Love United Series: Book 3:A Walk To Remember
by ExistInspire
Summary: Stacy is diagnosed with a life threatening disease causing her to take time away from the ring. Will the love of the most unlikely man bring her back to perfect health?
1. The Meeting

**Disclaimer:** As appealing as owning some of the World Wrestling Entertainment Superstars is, I really have to take a step back and admit that no, I do not own them, they in fact own themselves and this story is fictional in nature and any similarity to anything happening in real life is purely my way of being a psychic.

**Summary:** Stacy is diagnosed with a life threatening injury causing her to take time away from the ring. Will the love of the most unlikely man bring her back to perfect health or is she destined to have loved and lost in the game of love?

**Characters Appearing:** Instead of giving away who the man is right away, I will just say it includes only WWE pairings and no original characters, although I am the queen of those.

**Genre:** Romantic and Dramatic.

**Additional Info:** 3rd in the **Love United** Series.

**A/N:** Contrary to popular belief and the reflection of the story before it, this story will not be like the Amy and Chris one in any way shape or form, other then two people finding real love. It will be like the Shawn and Trish one with the focus being love conquers even coma. Thank you to everyone that has come to love this series as much as I do, and you will never be forgotten.

* * *

She stared at the wall, her blood pumping through her veins at a rate even a machine could catch, her heart beating right along with it. She was nervous but she didn't want to admit it. A routine test of her breast a few days ago had warranted a call to her doctor. When she had gotten there and they had done tests themselves, the doctor had asked her to take some more tests because it did seem there was a lump there now. 

'_How could there be a lump when there is so little breast for it to hide in?' _she had asked herself over and over on the way to the hospital that morning. Her doctor had called her and said they had the results back and wanted her there when she read them. Something better left not handled over the phone.

So here she sat now, waiting, her foot tapping the linoleum floor for about the hundredth time since she had arrived a little over twenty minutes ago. She had been ushered right in to see the doctor, the first time in her life that she was more important then the woman with the cleft lip.

'_Something must be seriously wrong with the tests. That's why she called me in; they found something that they couldn't correct.'_

Again she let her thoughts run away with her. There was really nothing else she could do sitting there in the office that hadn't felt cold until now when she sat waiting in it. Could it be that she was going to need surgery and the doctor was going to prepare her for it now?

She had been fighting back the tears since she had gotten there but now, with all the worries surrounding her as she took herself through the last three days; they seemed like a blessing as they fell down around her.

Cheeks damp, eyes tight and stinging, she noticed the door open around her. Turning in her chair, she placed a look at her doctor, the one that sent to tell her the bad news. Stacy scanned her face for some sort of good news, but found nothing. Whatever the news was, it was something the doctor had filed away like every other patient now.

_Never get personally involved in a patients case._

Yes that was what they had always told her when she wanted to just talk to someone about what she was feeling. From the common head cold, to the pain in her back when she had landed through the table so many years ago, they had all pulled away when she needed closure and to get close.

"Thank you for coming on such short notice Stacy. I called you as soon as the tests were dropped onto my desk. I thought you would want to be here as soon as possible to hear what they have found."

She lifted her head then, wanting to look like none of this was killing her inside. All of this waiting, pain and fear, eating its way right down into her heart. She just wanted answers and then to get back to work.

"Well you made it seem kind of important over the phone. I thought it best that I take you up now instead of waiting and wasting more of your time later."

Her doctor coughed then, something they did when they had bad news to deliver but didn't know exactly how to do it.

'_Yeah here it comes now. She is going to lay a really big one on me. I must be dying.'_

The last thing in the world that Stacy wanted was to know she was dying and that the rest of her life would have to feel like her death sentence. People killed people everyday and they didn't end up getting killed themselves until about fifty years later. Why was this happening to her now?

"I have gone over the results about three times since I received them and I have to admit to you Stacy, they aren't good. They aren't bad, we can treat you and try to prolong something happening, but it looks like we need to have surgery."

She took a moment to breathe in and out before she could even ask the doctor what that meant. She had known in her heart that it was bad, but she hadn't really thought they would have to take her breasts. Not at only 25 years of age. Wasn't there some sort of law against doing that so early into your twenties?

"You are going to have to take—my breasts?" she choked out then, not believing for a second that what she was saying was indeed coming from her mouth. "Can't there be some mistake with the lab?"

The doctor had taken a place then, one of concern as she bent her hand over her desk to where Stacy's hand sat frozen but shaking on the desk.

"If there was another way I would have found it in the time that you took to come over here this morning. Believe me, I called, I triple checked all of these tests myself. The cancer is in both of them and if we don't do this surgery there is a chance it could spread."

So there was some relief. She hadn't gotten it down into her internal organs yet which meant that although she might lose her breasts, the part that made her most a woman, she could still live for a long time without them.

"It hasn't spread yet which is why I want to start with the surgery as soon as we can. I know that you have a heavy work schedule but is there any way that we can get a break in that for this?"

She didn't even wait a moment to reply. "Of course not, Vince knows where I am today and he told me to take as much time off as I need. Is there anyway that I can be back to work soon?"

"If the surgery goes as planned then you should be back as early as six weeks. We want to run some tests six weeks after the surgery to make sure that we got it all."

There was a thought then, if they wanted her back at six weeks then it meant she would need to take chemo and that was something she didn't want to imagine.

'_How can a woman lose her breasts and then lose her hair as well? What is left to her but to die?'_

The thought of losing her hair as well as her womanhood made her shake with fear. Something that the doctor didn't miss out on.

"Don't start thinking about chemotherapy just yet. We are in the stage of getting the cancer out of your breast. Anything other then that shouldn't be looked at unless we have no other choice. You aren't going to die Stacy. The longer you wait though, you have to realize we may have to deal with more surgery, chemo and even in an unlikely situation, death."

All she could do then was nod. Well she had gotten the information she wanted and now it was time to get the hell out of the hospital and back to her hotel where she could sit and relax and plan what to do next.

"Stacy, I have dealt with women worse off then you and they are now living cancer free. I vow to you that I will do my best to take care of you as well. Your health is most important to me. If you need me for anything until the surgery, please feel free to call. I will see you without an appointment."

Touching her hand once more, she walked to the door, watching her patient deal with the fact that she was about to lose her breasts in a surgery that might fail. With one more lingering look, the doctor made her way out and down the hall. There had to be some way to make this easier on the young woman, but if there was a way, she damn sure didn't have it yet.

* * *

He had finished his blood test; the one all of the male superstars took to make sure they weren't taking any steroids that would help them be monsters in the ring. He was frustrated as he had his arm bandaged up, knowing for a fact that Vince was only doing this because of all the pain he had gone through because of Stephanie. 

"We will call you in a few days with the results sir. Thank you for coming in on such short notice for the test."

He nodded his acceptance to the male nurse and walked out of the nurse's station. Keeping his eyes locked on the floor as not to start frenzy on the hospital wing, he started walking not realizing he was about to come face to face with a tear stained woman.

As they came together there was a bang and then he looked up to see just who it was that he had run into. Imagine his shock when the person standing in front of him was none other then Stacy Keibler, a woman he worked with on Raw.

"Jesus Stacy, I didn't even think to look for someone walking around me. I didn't hurt you did I?"

The look of concern on his face was endearing, something she hadn't known that he had. When she worked with him he was always the same, work on the mind, anything else pushed away. It made it hard for someone like her to get close too, not that she cared anyway. Now though, standing in front of her, he thought he had hurt her and caused her to cry in pain. It warmed her heart to know at least someone was being caring considering her run of bad luck.

"You didn't hurt me believe me. I should have been paying attention to what I was doing myself. I guess my mind was a little taken over at the time. Sorry for the bother."

He couldn't figure this one out. Here she was, crying in front of him, the tears staining her face along with the makeup that was running and she was saying sorry to him. There just seemed to be no end to her niceness, even when he had almost taken her off her feet.

"No bother. You look like you need to talk? You want to take a ride, maybe get something to eat?"

Stacy pondered what he was asking of her. The more that she thought about it, the more she realized that in a little over two days she was going to be without breasts, small ones though they were. She might as well take the guy up on his offer. He hadn't been getting a good time of things lately it seemed either.

"I brought my car, but if you wouldn't mind swinging back after then I wouldn't mind going to get something to eat. I feel like I haven't eaten in days."

"I just had blood taken, how do you think I feel. Let's get the hell out of here and then you can tell me what all the tears are about."

* * *


	2. The Second Chance

**Disclaimer:** As appealing as owning some of the World Wrestling Entertainment Superstars is, I really have to take a step back and admit that no, I do not own them, they in fact own themselves and this story is fictional in nature and any similarity to anything happening in real life is purely my way of being a psychic.

**Summary:** Stacy is diagnosed with a life threatening injury causing her to take time away from the ring. Will the love of the most unlikely man bring her back to perfect health or is she destined to have loved and lost in the game of love?

**Characters Appearing:** Instead of giving away who the man is right away, I will just say it includes only WWE pairings and no original characters, although I am the queen of those.

**Genre:** Romantic and Dramatic.

**Additional Info**: 3rd in the Love United Series.

**A/N:** This story is completely fictional and the mother dying has nothing to do with the wrestler's real life. He will also come out of the darkness in the next chapter and you will learn who he is. I felt the need to tease you. Thank you all for the reviews and I hope I can make this one as good as the first.

* * *

They had been seated at the diner no longer then five minutes when she looked across the table and realized what she was doing and who she was doing it with. When she had first come into the company she had gained a reputation for sleeping with any man that came on to her and as much as she knew that there was no truth to it at all, she couldn't be bothered caring what anybody else saw when they saw her now. 

"So do you want to tell me what brought on all of those tears at the Doctor's office?" he asked her then, knowing he might not get much out of her, but wanting to help ease some of her fears. "If you are worried I would tell anyone, don't worry. I have become such a pariah in the locker room now, no one trust me, even if I did want to talk to them about it."

Stacy knew that he had meant to take some of her fear away but at the same time it just made her realize just who she was across the table from. "I had some tests fun after I found a lump in my breast and well they just weren't what I thought they were going to be."

For a few minutes they just dined on the coffee and donuts in silence as he hadn't been expecting to hear anything close to that and she hadn't been ready to tell anyone other then her doctor how she was really feeling. She was about to break the silence when he finally spoke.

"Do you want to tell me what they found? I mean I know it can't be good but sometimes it helps to talk to someone not close to it. At least that is what Shawn has told me so many times in the last two years."

Stacy thought about it then. She had known from watching them backstage that Shawn and him were friends, and that they were pretty much brothers, but anything else about what they talked about just hadn't seemed important until now.

"I found the lump about a week ago I guess, and I immediately called my doctor. She called me for today and told me the results of the tests I had run. As it turns out, I have breast cancer, which doesn't run in my family, and they want to do surgery."

He started to get interested when she mentioned surgery. His mother, less then a year ago had died from the same thing. He might not have known what happened in the surgery or what her chances were, but he knew how serious this was about to get for her.

"My mother died of breast cancer last year. I don't know anything about it other then that but well I do know what you must feel like."

Stacy then felt her heart go a little weak. So this man sitting across from her had not only known someone who had been through the same thing as her, but who had also passed on from it. She hadn't expected to run into anyone that she worked with that day, but she was starting to believe now that there was a reason for it.

"I'm sorry to hear that. I didn't even hear anything about that. That must have been a pretty hard thing to go through alone." Before she had a chance to comprehend what had just flown out of her mouth, she realized she had made mention of him being alone. He mentioned earlier he was a pariah and the last thing she wanted to do was make him feel like one now. Not when he was being so darn nice to her.

Before she could fix what she had done, he put his hand in the air to stop her. It was obvious to Stacy that he had been through this before and it wouldn't be the last time someone did it to him without thinking.

"Listen Stacy, if we are going to have a nice relaxing time here, then we are going to have to take it easy on each other. I know what I did and what the people close to me have done, and how bad it looks and I am dealing with it as we speak. Please don't feel that you need to censor yourself around me. Censoring yourself would be worse then what you actually end up saying."

She nodded her head and before she knew it, she was enjoying herself, not worrying about what she was saying or what his reaction would be in return. They found common interests even though their age differences were more then a little bit large. She found out why he really liked the band that did his theme music, what his life was like before he was on the road all the time. Above everything else that she learned as they sat there for the next 45 minutes was that he was just as alone as she was at that very moment.

He looked into her eyes as they paid the check and he was hit with the truth right square in the eye. They might come from different ends of the spectrum but there was one thing they shared now. They needed each other.

* * *

"_Bingo my friend!" Jeff yelled as he watched the show below him. He had known Stacy for what he thought was a long time and she hadn't quite been the same since her break up from Andrew Martin who everyone else in the world knew as Test. _

"_What are you hollering over here little brother? Don't tell me that you started meddling already?"_

_Jeff threw his brother a guilty look and then his face broke out into an angelic smile. It still amazed Matt that his brother and him had gotten thrown into this life of helping people find love when they never really got the whole process themselves. Jeff seemed to enjoy meddling a lot more then him and that suited him fine but he wished he would do it silently._

"_Well big brother, if you don't get right on it, then they lose it and take longer to get together. You know who taught me that?"_

"_I bet you are going to say me aren't you?"_

_Jeff snorted loudly and broke out laughing as he kept his carefully watchful eye on what was happening below._

"_Okay Jeff, I get it, you didn't learn it from me. Who taught you this brilliant piece of information?"_

"_Mom did jackass. You would think with all of this time up here you would have looked her up."_

_Matt immediately put his head into his hands. As much as he didn't want to admit it, Jeff did have a point. He must look like a terrible son._

"_When did you find the time with all your meddling to find and speak to our mother?" Matt asked, trying to blow off his brothers last comment but finding himself unable too._

"_When you had your head up your ass about the whole Amy married to someone else thing. Stop moping and get over it and mom wants to see you soon."_

_Matt cast his eyes down on what Jeff was so intent to get involved in and he smiled to himself. If there were any two people that needed love, he had to admit these were the two._

* * *

They had just arrived back at the Doctor's and Stacy started walking in the direction of her car, having thanked him for the ride back in the car. 

"Stacy before you go can I ask you something?"

She turned on her heels and looked back to where he stood, looking like a kid in grade school preparing to ask the princess on a date. It was a good thing they weren't in school as she had outgrown her ice princess stage a long time ago.

"Yeah sure of course you can."

"Can I see you again?"

Stacy smiled then knowing what he meant but wanting to make the poor guy work for it a little harder then he seemed to be. "You will see me, on RAW before I leave for the surgery."

With that she walked to her car and as she was bending down to get inside, he stood on the other side of the door, not allowing her to close it. For most women this would make them pound the gas peddle, but because it was him and she knew what he was getting at, she let him continue.

"I meant—will you do me the honor of going on a real date with me this weekend?"

She smiled and as she shut the door, she rolled down the window. It might be a bad idea to get involved with someone so close to going under the knife and the emotional pain she would have, but she found herself drawn to him in some way and didn't want to waste any time making choices.

"I would like nothing more. You have my number."

As she drove away the man let out a deep breath and smiled. As his colleague would have seen it, it looked like a million dollar smile. One that wouldn't be seen any other way then with the right woman.

* * *


	3. The Surgery

**Disclaimer:** As appealing as owning some of the World Wrestling Entertainment Superstars is, I really have to take a step back and admit that no, I do not own them, they in fact own themselves and this story is fictional in nature and any similarity to anything happening in real life is purely my way of being a psychic.

**Summary:** Stacy is diagnosed with a life threatening injury causing her to take time away from the ring. Will the love of the most unlikely man bring her back to perfect health or is she destined to have loved and lost in the game of love?

**Characters Appearing:** Instead of giving away who the man is right away, I will just say it includes only WWE pairings and no original characters, although I am the queen of those.

**Genre:** Romantic and Dramatic.

**Additional Info**: 3rd in the Love United Series.

**A/N:** In my hurry to get this story out to you, I am writing this basically right after I posted the second chapter. So for those of you that reviews before and after I post this, thank you from the bottom of my heart. I am just really into what I want to do with this one and I don't want to miss a beat. Get ready for the big reveal in this chapter by the way, it should make some of you shocked and appalled and others it might make sense too. No it isn't Randy Orton for those of you that thought that. LOL

* * *

The floors were cold, the hospital clothes just didn't want to close around her butt and she was scared out of her mind. All of those thoughts and more were running through her head as she waited on the operating table to finally be put out for the surgery. 

It was now a week after the appointment where she found out she would be living without her breasts and all that she could think of was what Vince had said to her only two days before when she had gone to him and Shane about what her future held in the WWE.

_**Flashback – 2 Days Previous**_

"_**Come in" Vince said as he looked over the last of the paperwork on his desk. He knew who would be on the other side of the door even before she made her entrance in. It was Stacy and she was here to tell him the bad news. **_

"_**Thank you for seeing me on such short notice sir. I do realize you are a very busy man and I wouldn't have come if it weren't vital to the company and to me." Stacy said as Vince motioned for her to take a seat across the table from him. **_

"_**Well when you called and said you needed to see me and it was urgent and had to do with your future on RAW, it got me to thinking it might be a meeting sort of thing."**_

_**Stacy shifted in her chair, pushing the tears away from her eyes that were threatening to break through before she even got the chance to actually tell him the news. She knew that this wasn't going to turn out well considering she hadn't been used in the ring in a long time and all she was good for was strutting herself around the ring. What use would she be now in the grand scheme of things?**_

"_**I told you that I had to make an appointment and had to miss some work time and it has to do with that." She managed to choke out before Vince could start to question her. She was already on edge with the surgery planned for two days from now, and sitting here and doing this was only making her emotional state worse.**_

"_**So what is the final result here Stacy?"**_

_**She cleared her throat before beginning to tell him what they had found in the tests they had run. As she spoke she noticed Vince's expression go from serious to downright grim and she didn't know what to make of it. Was it possible he was thinking about all the money he was about to lose? Or could he actually care what happens to her?**_

"**_Jesus Stacy, I am sorry to hear that." Was all Vince could manage to choke out? He had to admit this hadn't been what he was expecting at all. Before he had a chance to say more, Shane stormed into the room, immediately stopped halfway to the desk as he realized she was in tears and his father looked ill. _**

"_**I didn't mean to interrupt." He said, taking a step back towards the door.**_

_**Vince made a motion with his hand, pushing his son to make himself at home. The more Vince thought about it, the more he realized this had everything to do with Shane because he was now running Raw with Stephanie still in prison for the accident with Trish.**_

"_**Shane, Stacy has come to me with a very valid concern and since you are now the one running RAW I think you need to handle it from here on out. Listen Stacy, I do wish you a very speedy recovery and if you need anything please do feel free to call me at any time. Shane, I will talk to you later in the day."**_

_**Motioned a goodbye Vince made his way out of the room and upon leaving the room broke down in tears. Tears he hadn't shed since his youngest had tried to kill Trish and take over the company a few years back. It was like losing another daughter all over again, something he didn't want to do at any cost.**_

"**_Listen Marie, can you please call the hospital that this doctor works out of." Vince said handing her a card. 'Make sure that anything that Ms. Keibler needs is taken care of, but kept under wraps." With that Vince made his way out of the office, determined to rid his mind of the pain that was now threatening to take hold._**

_**Back in the office Stacy recounted everything back to Shane and within seconds Shane's face turned soft and caring as he placed his hand over Stacy's.**_

"_**What do you want me to do here Stacy?"**_

_**She breathed out a sigh and stood to her feet. "I want you to take me off active roster at least for the next couple of years. I don't want to bring this company down and it looks like with the way I will look after this is all over, it might be the best thing if I stepped down."**_

"_**Are you sure that is what you want to do?" Shane asked with concern, not wanting to get rid of the woman in front of him, but knowing that she did make a very valid point.**_

"_**Yes, so whenever you can do that, just send me the paperwork and I will get it signed immediately and back to you. I think this might be best for everyone."**_

_**Shane nodded his head and before she had a chance to run from his office in pain, he wrapped her in his arms in a tight family like hug. "Don't worry Stacy, everything will turn out okay, I just know it will. You're a strong lady and you can beat just about anything you put your mind too."**_

_**End of Flashback**_

So here she was now, waiting to be operated on and scared out of her mind. She knew she had made the right decision in telling Shane she wanted out before he had a chance to tell her himself. Her only concern now was that all of this turned out alright just like he had said it would.

* * *

"You want to tell me what the hell has got you wound up so tight man? I don't think I have seen you this preoccupied since Stephanie when you were with Joanie." 

Paul looked up and turned to face his long time friend Shawn. They certainly had been through a lot together and even now, after everything that Stephanie had done to try and make hell for everyone, people still blamed him for letting it get that far. That was, everyone but Shawn did. Could he really trust his best friend with this information?

"That's it man isn't it? You finally put your feet back on solid ground and met someone didn't you?" Shawn asked, slapping his legs in glee and standing from his sitting position. If Paul had finally gotten back in to the dating pool, he had a few ladies of his own he wanted to hook him up with.

"What makes you think it would have to do with a woman man? Can't I just have a lot on my mind?"

"Yes but everything that was on your mind happened two years ago man and neither Trish nor I fault you for any of it. You were at our wedding weren't you?"

He sighed and looked his buddy in the eye. He always did seem to make a good point. "Yes I was and yes this is about a woman. I just can't seem to shake her out of my system. We also have a date this weekend that might have something to do with it."

Shawn looked at Paul and almost fainted straight away. Had Paul gotten this serious about a woman this fast? Was he really dating someone and not telling him who it was?

"Who is she man?"

"You wouldn't believe it if I told you. We aren't exactly close in age or anything."

"Just tell me who it is man and let me make up my mind from there."

"Okay, it's Stacy."

Shawn rolled his eyes, not believing for a second that his friend was telling him the truth. The last thing Shawn had known she was dating Andrew. She had even brought him to the wedding two years before. What the hell had happened since then and why didn't he know?

"You mean to tell me that you are dating our Stacy?"

"The one and the only, except we aren't dating yet, she is going through some hard times. This would be our first real one."

Shawn was happy for his friend despite all of the shit that had been handed to him over the last two years. It was a known fact that he had become a pariah in the back locker room and that no one wanted to get close to him because of getting burned. The fact that he had found someone right under their own noses was good. It was indeed time he moved on.

"Well why are you so grim about it then?"

Paul debated telling him. He had sworn to Stacy that he wouldn't pass it on and the last thing he wanted to do was lie to the woman.

"She has cancer man, but you didn't hear it from me and you better not tell anyone. They are going to do an operation today to take away her breasts. It looks like it might be deadly."

"Well what the hell are you doing standing around here with me for man? We did our shit. Instead of going home and getting wasted like normal, why don't we just drive on down to the hospital and you can be with her. No one knows hospitals better then the Heartbreak Kid himself."

Paul thought about what his friend was offering. If he wanted to show her how much he wanted to be with her, then maybe the first step was in being there for her after the hardest moment of her life. He only hoped that when she saw that he was there, she wouldn't lose it on him, he didn't want to lose her this quick.

* * *


	4. The Aftermath

**Disclaimer:** As appealing as owning some of the World Wrestling Entertainment Superstars is, I really have to take a step back and admit that no, I do not own them, they in fact own themselves and this story is fictional in nature and any similarity to anything happening in real life is purely my way of being a psychic.

**Summary:** Stacy is diagnosed with a life threatening injury causing her to take time away from the ring. Will the love of the most unlikely man bring her back to perfect health or is she destined to have loved and lost in the game of love?

**Genre:** Romantic and Dramatic.

**Additional Info**: 3rd in the Love United Series.

**A/N:** This is the place for me to air piss off moments if I have them and well I only have one! First of all I put myself on my own author alert because I want to make sure that before anyone else sees the chapter I can make sure it came out alright in the looks department and well I didn't get an author alert for chapter two or three. Now I realize that the site made some major changes and the web system was in lock down, but that was on the 13th, not yesterday too. What it also caused me not to see was anyone's reviews. But fear not fans of the story, I can see them if I got on the site and look myself for them. So I did in the long run get all of your reviews, I just have to wonder where my Latisha chick went man, its like missing your right arm when she isn't around to go at me every chapter. Well wherever you are I hope you are doing okay. Now on to enlightening some of you. I realize that the Randy and Stacy thing has been overdone, which leads me to believe that is why my little Jericho lover hates the pairing, and why I also have a hard time writing the two of them. I chose Paul mainly because I wanted to focus on love and loss and pain in this story a lot and well Paul went through it all in the first one and this is where he gets to make things right again. Now the reason I chose Stacy is because as much as I like her as a person, she doesn't have really big breasts like some of the others, and I thought hitting her with cancer of the breasts would be something all women can understand and in her case even sympathize with. I think I made the right choice but it is not up to me really, it is up to you the fan of this story to let me know when it is over if it really is the right choice. Thank you for reviewing even when I worried for 5 seconds that you hadn't, and well I hope you continue to like where I take this. You will end up crying to beware of that in the coming chapters. For the record, I didn't choose Randy here also because he is in the next one with a different woman. Let it not be said that I didn't give you something to hold onto. Also to the people that review, I have read some of your stuff and I am interested in putting some of the stories onto my own site, and I was wondering if for those of you that are writing a lot on here if that is alright with you. That goes for anyone that writes.

* * *

He paced the halls in horror, remembering the last time he had been dragged into one and almost watched Trish die because of what his wife had planned. It wasn't something that he wanted to remember, not with Stacy in there fighting for her own life and her own body, but it couldn't be helped. 

Shawn had driven him to the hospital letting him know that he had to get home to Trish and the baby or he would end up dead, leaving Paul there to fend for himself. He didn't know the first thing about where to go or what to do, but by some good chance of luck, he had found his way to where he now paced and waited for good news.

He tried to find a reason for why he wanted to be near her so bad, but he couldn't no matter how far he let his mind stretch. He had been working with Stacy since he could remember and he had never once made a move in her direction. So why now was he sitting here like the unwilling to be out of the room husband, scared out of his mind?

_You didn't make a move because before Stephanie and after her you weren't a cheater. With everything out of the way you have a clear path to a really nice woman's heart._

The minute he thought about it further he knew that what he thought made complete sense. After everything that had happened with Stephanie two years earlier, he had sworn off any woman in the business. With what was happening with Stacy and then what had happened before to his mother, he knew the reason he was here waiting for her now. He was here because he had to be.

The door to the operating room opened then, letting Paul get a good look at the people that were in there working on the Stacy now. He noticed the woman before him, dressed in hospital dress, her face ashen and at the same time unreadable. Could it have been taken care of or was there something worse that the doctor couldn't get at?

"I was paged and told you were here to be with Ms. Keibler." The doctor said, introducing herself as Stacy's doctor for the operation and the pre-op. "It is nice to know she has someone like you in her life that she trusted to be here for her at the end of it."

Paul felt guilty then and he felt like he should be dirt on the bottom of the doctor's shoe. Stacy didn't even have a clue that she was here, and the fact that he had told Shawn what was going on with her wasn't going to sit too pretty either. Just as he had the burst of conscious, he knew he had to spell it out for the doctor before he took it even further.

"She doesn't know I am here. I found out what was happening with her today and for some reason I felt I needed to be here with her. My own mother died from the same thing not too long ago."

The doctor nodded her approval and let a smile escape. "We operated on both of her breasts and as I am sure you know took them away. Now it is just a waiting game. I would love to believe that we had it all in her breasts and we just solved her cancer, but we don't know how long she has been sitting on it."

"So you are telling me not to get my hopes up that she will feel better after all of this? Are you telling me that she could get worse?"

The doctor nodded again slowly, not wanting to give away the patients case in so many words but getting a feeling there was more then friendship between Stacy and this man before her now.

"That is exactly what I am telling you. If she gets worse it means that it has gone into her vital organs and that we cannot totally fix. We can operate as many times as we like but it going to get harder to detect."

"Then let's hope that is not the case." Paul said, shaking the doctor's hand before she walked away to the front desk to get the charts updated after the surgery.

Paul sat down in the chair then and with his hands covering his face as not to bother any of the other people in the hospital; he did something he hadn't done since before his mother died, he prayed.

* * *

"_Oh now come on, when I signed on for this I didn't think she was going to get worse. I don't think I want to be doing this anymore." Jeff said, pounding his fist into the little table before him. Since passing over and getting the job of making sure these two fell in love he had been through a million moments like this one. He hit whatever he touched hard and nothing ever happened. The only thing he missed on the other side was he could still have emotions but not feel the severity of the pain. _

"_You have to deal with the hand you get dealt little brother." Matt said, trying to calm his brother down but knowing he wasn't doing any good. _

"_We have to make sure these two fall in love and on Earth there is no guarantee that she will even live? How the hell is that fair Matt?" Jeff exclaimed wanting something else to hit and realizing he was getting even closer to socking his brother._

"_There is such a thing as a last minute heavenly intervention brother. When I passed on I couldn't tell anyone what to do or get involved much because I could alter the way things turned out. I got more involved then I should have and still got bailed out in the end."_

_Jeff knew his brother had a point. Matt had made a habit of healing wounds, showing himself to people not involved and he was still here and alright and he had made sure his wife had moved on with her life even though it hurt._

"_Well can't we go and ask for one now? At least ask for a little more time?"_

"_If we did that then what Jeff? The same end result would happen or it could make all of this worse. We have no idea if she will live or die, our job isn't to deal with that. We are here to make them fall in love."_

"_If you are dead then love doesn't matter anymore."_

_Matt thought about what his brother said and although with everything that had happened he should agree, he found that he didn't at all. He still loved Amy and felt good doing it even though he knew that until she died he would never see her again the way he had when he had been alive. _

"_You will think different when you get to feel love on the other side son." A voice said from behind them. _

_Matt looked then and what he saw was the most glorious vision in front of him, His mother stood before them then filled with heavenly glow and looking healthy again._

* * *

She shifted her head to the left as the light from outside almost blinded her. She had been awake for less then fifteen minutes and already the door had been opening more then she liked it too. Why couldn't the doctor's wait until later to check her over? 

"I hope you don't mind but your doctor said that I could come in and see that you are alright for myself."

Before Stacy could figure out what was going on she saw him standing across on the other side of the bed from her. What he was doing there was anybody's guess and in that one moment she felt sick to her stomach. She didn't want him to see her like this.

"What are you doing here?" she choked out, the drugs still running high through her system, not turning her head from the other direction as she didn't want to see the look on his face when he saw her without breasts.

"I wanted to be here for you. I know you don't want me here now and I also know why that is but I only felt it right to be here for you when you are going through this alone."

She felt touched by his words but was afraid to tell him so. She knew what he eventually wanted from her and right now she wasn't willing to give it to him or any other man for that matter. Why couldn't he just leave her alone to wallow?

"You should go Paul; you don't want to see me like this."

"You look as pretty as you did before the surgery if that is what you are trying to kick me out for. Stacy, you forget that I had a mother, the woman that birthed me into this world go through this very same thing. I know what it does to the body so I am not afraid of what you will look like."

She looked over at him then and the tears willingly came without any help. He was trying to make her feel the same even after what had happened and although it was working, she knew that in her heart she didn't want to even look at herself, let alone have someone else do it.

"Like I said, you need to leave."

"No Stacy, I don't think I want to do that." Paul said, his voice getting stronger as he knew he was about to fight her tooth and nail over this.

"You still want that date don't you?" she questioned lightly, hating herself for having to bribe him out of her hospital room but knowing it was for the greater good.

"That is low Stacy even for you. Listen you want me out of here, then fine, I am out. I am not gone however because in two days when they let you out I am going to take you home."

He left the room then, not wanting to hear any more of her complaints. He didn't know why he was doing what he was, but he knew that she needed someone and if she wouldn't admit that to him then maybe sometime soon she would admit it to herself.

* * *


	5. The Emotional Breakdown

**Disclaimer:** As appealing as owning some of the World Wrestling Entertainment Superstars is, I really have to take a step back and admit that no, I do not own them, they in fact own themselves and this story is fictional in nature and any similarity to anything happening in real life is purely my way of being a psychic.

**Summary:** Stacy is diagnosed with a life threatening injury causing her to take time away from the ring. Will the love of the most unlikely man bring her back to perfect health or is she destined to have loved and lost in the game of love?

**Genre:** Romantic and Dramatic.

**Additional Info**: 3rd in the Love United Series.

**A/N:** The reason this is coming to you two days after the fact is because it seems I updated when they were working on the site, which meant I had to make the site catch up with me in terms of reviews and author alerts. With that said, I think I have done that now as I have cleared everything out of my email box. I hope I didn't lose any of you in those two days and well get ready for the next installment. Thank you all for the reviews and the support on this story in the first four chapters and with this response, I can assure you I will use every superstar I have in my arsenal to make you fall in love all over again in the stories to come.

* * *

"All of your tests look good Stacy. I think it's time you got yourself out of here and back into life." 

She heard her doctor speaking but wasn't sure if what she was hearing was real. Could she indeed go back to the work she loved without worrying about the cancer going further into her body? Could there be a chance that something higher was looking after her now?

_You still can't look at your breasts without cringing, so it isn't over yet is it?_ The voice was clear as day in her mind and she knew it was her own. She had been going over in her head how she felt now that she was without her breasts, without a job and without a man to really love her. Of course she knew there was Paul and he seemed to want to be a friend to her despite what she thought to herself but she knew in her heart she could never let him in the way she would have normally done.

_There is no way he can love you when there is nothing left there to hold on to._ She wanted to fight the voice in her head. She wanted to tell it that he could indeed want to be with her even though she didn't have her breasts, but in her heart she even had to question that one herself. He might have had a mother go through it, but he didn't have to make love to a mother now did he?

"Do you hear what I am telling you Stacy? Do you have someone that can pick you up?"

The doctor's voice cut back in to her brow beating again and she looked up and nodded her head. She knew who would be out there when she was ready to leave and she wasn't sure if she really wanted it to be him.

"I have someone that will be here to pick me up. Actually he should be outside right about now."

"Would that be the nice young man I saw waiting to get into see you a few days ago? He seemed to really be concerned about what was happening to you in the operating room. It is good to have people around like him."

"It's not like that, he is just a friend that was concerned is all." Even as she spoke the words she knew she had to question them. Not more then a week ago he had asked to see her again which meant there was a thin line from friendship to what was happening there now. Could she really say all she felt for him was friendship?

"Well friends are good to have." The doctor said before making her way to the door. "I will have your release papers done up while you dress and you can come back for the checkup in two weeks time. Don't worry Stacy, the worst does look to be over now."

She just nodded her head and as the doctor took her leave of the room, she felt herself being pulled to the mirror standing in front of the closet. The doctor had said that it wouldn't be wise to immediately look at her breasts after she was released as she might not be able to handle it right away. She couldn't help herself now though as she undid the hospital garb from around her body and let it fall to the ground.

She felt her body grow tight as she took in the sight now right before her eyes. There were scars lined where her breasts used to be and although she knew they weren't much, she could feel her heart pounding in emotions as she realized they were hers and they were gone.

"How could something like this have happening to me this early? Why do I have to go through all of this now?" she cried to the mirror who gave no response back. As she let the tears fall, she knew for certain she couldn't let Paul see her like this. Whatever shot they had was now a distant memory for both of them. She wasn't the woman she was a week ago, she was a broken shard of glass, just waiting to be swept into the garbage where she felt now she belonged.

* * *

"_Now you see what I am saying Matt? This is just plain heartbreaking. I couldn't even write a song to convey how sick this makes me feel man. What the hell did she do to deserve this?" Jeff squealed as he watched below what was happening to Stacy. _

"_I told you man, we don't have a choice in this, we just have to make them fall in love." Matt replied, not looking at his brother for fear he would bring up their mother again. No matter how long he spent now in heaven, he would never get used to the fact that he now joined his mother there much too soon. Since she had made herself known to him he hadn't been able to get her off his mind, which in turn made Jeff the man to deal with the love story below._

"_Get your head out of your ass and help me here man. This can't be right. She is going to give up on Paul before they even figure out what we are doing here."_

"_Maybe they aren't meant to be together then. Isn't that what the angel said, sometimes they don't have their facts right?"_

_Jeff scowled at his brother and looked back down to Stacy, sitting in the middle of the hospital room floor now, broken down in tears, never feeling like the same person again. It was then Jeff realized what he had to do. If Matt didn't want to help him then he was going to do it all himself. If Stacy wouldn't acknowledge Paul right now, then maybe it wasn't her that needed that first push. Maybe it was him._

* * *

_You should have picked her up from the hospital._

He had been trying to plan a match for the last two hours, knowing him and Randy had to get it just right before the big Royal Rumble match. He couldn't however focus on the match, as he couldn't get the thoughts out of his head that he was a chicken for not going and getting her himself like he promised her he would.

"Hey man, are we going to do this all day or what? I have a hot date and I don't want to ruin it by spending all week here."

He heard Randy speaking but didn't pay attention to what his partner was saying. He knew how important this match was to both of their careers, and the last thing he wanted to do was ruin it by not focusing but at that moment in time he knew he couldn't help it.

His cell rang them, rousing him from his thoughts. He immediately hit the dial and listened as the voice on the other end started talking.

"Hey man, I'm here to get her, but man it doesn't look good. She won't come out of her room."

Paul felt his chest seize up in sickness and fear. He knew that she was taking this hard and she had every reason to do that, but he just didn't want to see her fade away on him now. Not when the doctor had told him she was doing better and her tests were good. Stacy might not have her breasts anymore, but he didn't want her to lose the battle for her life either. She still needed to live didn't she?

"Listen man, do whatever you have to so that she will come out."

"I am man, but I can't exactly force her out of the room. The doctors are in there with her now. I will keep you posted as soon as I get her out of here. Man have I mentioned how much I hate hospitals since Trish? They give me the heebie jeebies."

Paul smiled at the choice of words Shawn was using and hung up the phone, ready to seriously work this out with Randy so he could go and be there for Stacy. Randy had a point; they both didn't need to be there until the end of the week.

* * *

"Stacy listen, its Shawn, can you let me in the room?" Shawn called through the door, feeling sick to his stomach at being there again and for a completely different but equally sad reason. 

When Trish had finally come back him pregnant and wanting to be really married the way she had dreamed they had been, he had given even more of his heart over to the higher power. Now he sat there and as he pleaded his way into the room, he knew he was hoping the same thing would happen here, for Stacy. He didn't want to scare her or make her worse but he felt the familiar pull at wanting to make someone feel better.

The door opened slowly and she pulled away as he made his way inside. What he saw when he entered the room was something he hadn't seen since he had hit rock bottom years ago. Her hair was a mess, she was sloppily dressed and she couldn't seem to take her tear stained eyes off of the mirror.

"Oh now who the hell put this in the room?" Shawn swore to himself before picking the thing up and placing it in the hallway for someone to take away.

"I thought they did it for me." Stacy said silently, not sure why the mirror had been in the room either seeing as the doctor didn't want her to view her scars until later.

"It's a sick joke is what it is and I don't like it. Now do you want to tell me why you won't come out and let me take you home?"

She stared at him then, and through her eyes, much like he had with Trish, he could see all of what she was feeling and he felt like a heel then trying to push it out of her.

"Have you really seen me and what they look like?" she screamed then, pointing down to where her breasts used to lay. "I am 25 years old Shawn, I don't need all of this shit right now."

"I agree with you here princess; you don't deserve any of this. I am sorry you have to go through it."

She really took the time then to watch him and listen to what he was saying. As she watched him staring at her, not at her breasts, she knew that not everyone would look at her like she was a leper. "You understand all of this?"

"Hey, I understand everything princess. You need to scream then by all means get it out. You deserve the right to do it. Someone obviously thought it would be funny to make all of this happen to you and for that I am sorry. You need to know something though Stacy and I am sure I won't be the first or last to tell it to you. When I look at you, I don't see what you used to have and now don't have. I see what I have always seen and that's the person standing in front of me. You are a strong, healthy woman and you can beat this and other people's stupid perceptions."

She listened intently to his words and realized he had a very valid point. He really did look her in the eye and not at the scars and he didn't see her any differently then he always had. She was still the girl he worked with on a weekly basis and she always would be.

"Did Paul send you?"

"You bet he did. He had that match with randy to work out and I thought that I would help him out. Although I have to tell you that I hate being here since Trish."

She felt for him then and within seconds she had grabbed her bag of items and she was heading for the door. By the time Shawn realized what was going on; she was halfway out the door.

"Where the heck are you going?" Shawn called after her.

"The least you can do is get me the hell out of this place and get me something to eat."

Shawn threw her a look of concern and for the first time in three days she felt herself really smile.

"Don't worry Shawn, I'm still pretty screwed up, but you did a huge thing coming here again after what happened those years ago, and the least I can do is help you get out of here faster."

* * *


	6. The Ride Home

**Disclaimer:** As appealing as owning some of the World Wrestling Entertainment Superstars is, I really have to take a step back and admit that no, I do not own them, they in fact own themselves and this story is fictional in nature and any similarity to anything happening in real life is purely my way of being a psychic.

**Summary:** Stacy is diagnosed with a life threatening injury causing her to take time away from the ring. Will the love of the most unlikely man bring her back to perfect health or is she destined to have loved and lost in the game of love?

**Genre:** Romantic and Dramatic.

**Additional Info**: 3rd in the Love United Series.

**A/N: **I am writing this before anyone gets a chance to review the chapter before it, so those of you that do take the time to read it thank you, and well here is the next chapter. So sorry it took so long to update this sucker, even if it was only two days.

* * *

They were silent as they drove, neither one of them wanting to be the first one to talk and be forced to make the conversation last. Shawn cast a look over to where Stacy sat staring out the window and finally decided he couldn't do this drive if she was going to sit there in silence any longer. 

"So now that everything is alright what are your plans?"

She turned away from the window and her eyes were downcast and vacant, as if not sure what she was going to do next. She knew most of all that her friends might not mind her flatter then normal chest but the American public won't. So the more she pondered it, she knew she wouldn't be welcomed back by the WWE any time soon.

"I haven't a clue. I took myself off active roster. Without working in the ring I am not sure what's next in the Stacy story."

Shawn thought about what she had just confessed to him and wondered if Paul even had a clue about any of this. His friend wasn't going to take it well when he found out his date was as good as gone. Just as he thought about Paul, she seemed to want to reveal something.

"Do you think you can do me a favor?" she asked sweetly, so sweetly in fact that Shawn knew he was in for trouble with whatever it was. He had always been a sucker for a smile and a soft voice. That was one of the reasons he never got tired of his wife.

"Sure, what do you need?"

"Can you tell Paul I'm sorry but that I can't see him tomorrow night? I mean I think it might be best if I stick close to home for awhile. After what happened back there in the hospital I don't think I am ready to be taken out."

Shawn nodded his head in agreement knowing that Paul was going to want to kill him when he heard all of this. He had to admit that she had a very valid point and that if she really meant as much to his buddy as he thought she did, then Paul would have to make his case some other time.

"Don't worry about it, and I won't tell Paul what happened at the hospital today either. I wouldn't want him to get all rattled over nothing."

Stacy smiled and turned her head back towards the window. She had been worried that Shawn showing up for her that afternoon was going to be trouble, but in the end, he seemed to be a pretty decent man, and he was looking out for her best interests. She knew that Paul was his friend and he was loyal, but taking her side in all of this now meant a lot to her. It wasn't often you met a man that would do that for you no questions asked.

"I have one question though." He interrupted her mid thought. "Do you want me to tell Paul what you told me or make something else up?"

"Just what I told you is fine. I don't want to lie to him or make him think he did something wrong. I just don't think I can deal with being taken out and shown off when I have even less to show off then I had before."

"_You still have the legs."_

As she turned back to the window she heard Shawn whisper something under his breath and even though he thought she hadn't heard him, she couldn't help but smile. He was helping her even when he didn't know it. Maybe this wasn't the end of the world after all.

"Thanks Shawn."

With that as her final word she felt the pills still running through her system and lay back on the chair for a quick nap before they hit her house.

* * *

"You want to tell me where the hell your head is at today man?" Randy asked as they finished walking through the basics of the match and were both enjoying a breather on the ringside steps. 

Paul didn't exactly feel close to Randy, but he also couldn't get the thoughts of his head of the last time he had seen Stacy. She had looked pretty good, but he even had to admit she hadn't looked like herself. He hadn't noticed that her chest looked smaller, but for someone that was doing alright, she sure seemed pretty banged up and he didn't like that he couldn't help her.

"It's just I have a lot on my mind man."

"Does this have something to do with Stephanie?"

Paul looked up at his opponent in the Royal Rumble match and he realized that for the first time since he had been taken for a ride by his wife, he no longer felt the weight of it on his shoulders. It only took Randy mentioning it for a split second that got him to remembering what his life had been like only years before.

"I really messed up that one didn't I man? I mean I took Joanie on a ride which from what I hear she hasn't really healed from. I made things worse for her and other relationships like with Sean and now what do I have to show for it?"

"What Joanie is doing now has nothing to do with you Paul. I have to admit it man, when Stephanie got taken away and jailed for almost killing Trish, I had to wonder if you cheated on her and made her madder then hell. I made a mistake and I'm sorry, but she was the one at fault, not you."

"How can you be so sure now?" Paul asked, knowing Randy was being sincere but not knowing where it was coming from. Was it possible the young stud knew what he was talking about since leaving Paul and going out on his own?

"I watch people man, and you didn't do that to Stephanie or to Joanie either. You might have made an error when you cheated on her, but what happened to them in the end was their own doing."

"It's not Stephanie or Joanie that's on my mind I'm afraid to say."

"Then what woman stole your heart this time and used your own sledgehammer to crush it?"

Paul laughed and slapped Randy on the back. He knew that the young man was just trying to show that he cared, but with the last comment, he showed Paul that at this stage in the game he couldn't be trusted.

"Listen Randy some other time alright man? I have somewhere I have needed to be all day and I put it off way too long."

Randy and him shook hands and he headed back to the locker room for a quick shower and a shave. He did have somewhere he needed to be and if Shawn had gotten her out of the hospital then she should just be hitting home right about now. There was no way he could make this wait until tomorrow, he had to see her tonight to make things right.

* * *

"_Yes!!!" Jeff screamed running around like a kid without Ritalin, almost bumping into his brother on the way around the heavenly quarters._

"_What the hell is going on with you now? I take it something happened that you like?"_

"_Yes, as it were I can't work with women like I thought but when it comes to men, damn brother man; Paul was an easy nut to crack."_

_Matt looked up from what he was doing, more like pondering and saw the look on his younger brothers face. He did look happy and Matt was glad it was finally working out for him. The last thing he wanted to do was tell him how it all ended now, it wouldn't be right._

"_Are you making them think again little brother?"_

"_Your damn right man. I mean come on, you have the ability to cast your own thoughts out into someone else's head, why not use it. Paul is going to her now and the story is done."_

"_Not that simple, what if she tells him to screw off?"_

_Jeff sat down and pondered what Matt had just told him. The more he thought about it, he realized there was a point to it all. As it seemed he had to do a bit more work on Stacy before the day was done._

"_You're up then Matt, show me what you can do."_

* * *


	7. The Flashback

**Disclaimer:** As appealing as owning some of the World Wrestling Entertainment Superstars is, I really have to take a step back and admit that no, I do not own them, they in fact own themselves and this story is fictional in nature and any similarity to anything happening in real life is purely my way of being a psychic.

**Summary:** Stacy is diagnosed with a life threatening injury causing her to take time away from the ring. Will the love of the most unlikely man bring her back to perfect health or is she destined to have loved and lost in the game of love?

**Genre:** Romantic and Dramatic.

**Additional Info**: 3rd in the Love United Series.

**A/N:** Do not fear lovers of this story thus far, I know I made Matt and Jeff say some things that have you worried. Do not fear. I shall not reveal the end of this sucker, but I do ask that you don't read too much into how unenthusiastic Matt is throughout it. The only way I knew at the time to explain Jeff being happy was to think of my little boy and how hyper he gets when he is really and genuinely happy, and how I wonder if the poor kid has ADD and might need Ritalin. LOL So thank you for finding that funny, that was the intent and well I hope you like what I continue to do with all of this.

* * *

"What the hell did you do to her man?" Paul screamed, running his fingers roughly through his hair. Shawn had been back only for a few minutes and he had already dropped a huge bomb on him. 

Shawn rolled his eyes and continued from the kitchen to sit down on the couch. "I didn't do a damn thing to her man, she made the choice herself and if you have any gumption at all you had better heed what she said."

"She wouldn't just dump me off like that. Do you realize who the hell I am?" Paul screamed again, unwilling to let the idea of Stacy playing him for a fool and throwing it all away enter his mind.

"Who you are? Paul listen to yourself man." Shawn pleaded with his friend, knowing how he felt and not knowing what else to do about it. "Let me tell you who you are as of right now buddy. You are the man that got himself played by his wife and lost a lot of friends in the locker room. You really can't sit there and try to tell me that you are still part of that company and everyone needs to bow to you. It ain't happening man."

Paul thought about what Shawn was saying and realized that his friend did have a very valid point. Paul had been sitting on top of the world for so long he didn't even know how to handle himself now that he had fallen.

"I liked her man, I really did."

Shawn watched his friend stalking back and forth around the room and couldn't help but feel sorry for him. If it hadn't been for what Stephanie was planning, Shawn wouldn't have his wife now, and Paul would still be happy. At least he hoped that were true.

"I know you did Paul and the best thing for her right now is to be left alone to come to terms with what happened to her. If anyone gets that it should be you. Do you remember what your mother went through after her first round of surgery and then chemo? It was rough."

Paul sat down on the couch and as his friend continued to speak around him, let his mind search back to the day his mother had lost her breasts and what it had done to his happy family.

* * *

**Flashback – 5 Years Previous**

"**Is mom going to be alright Dad?" he asked in an almost childlike voice. When he had gotten the call about his mother he had dropped all and run to her aid. The last thing he needed in this world was to lose the only woman in his life that gave a damn about him as a person.**

"**Well son, the doctor says that she is going to have a rough couple of months after this, with coming to terms with the loss of her breasts and her ideal as a woman. He also isn't very sure if they even got it all. At this point all I can tell you is that she has a fifty fifty shot."**

**Paul felt his body run cold as his father talked. He had wanted to bring Joanie along but didn't want to interrupt her budding WWE career. She was the only other person that could stand by his side no matter what he faced and still come out smiling at the end of it all. He really wished he had asked her to make the trek there, but knew there was nothing he could do about it now.**

**A few days later his mother was taken home from the hospital and it was like she had turned into a completely different woman overnight. She was hostile and anytime anyone made a glance towards her now vacant breasts, the tool that had fed many kids over the years, she would fall into a mess of tears and need to take medication to calm her.**

"**Dad, I know I asked you before but you need to tell me again, is she really dealing with this the proper way. She just doesn't feel like mom anymore. It's like there is another woman taking over her soul."**

**His father had only nodded in agreement and told him that it would be best for everyone if he went back on the road and left the rest to the doctors. He had done what he said, until he got the call that shook his foundation throughout.**

"**Son, I don't mean to alarm you but your mother has gotten worse and they need to do another surgery."**

"**How worse did she get dad?"**

"**It has spread and we don't know how far it has gone at this point. I should also warn you not to come home as she is being held in the hospital for an evaluation."**

"**What kind of evaluation and why can't I be there for her? She is my mother for Christ's sakes!"**

"**She is being held for a mental evaluation son. She has tried numerous times to end her life and I can't take another one now."**

**End of Flashback**

* * *

When he finally came out of his daze he realized what Shawn had been trying to tell him and he felt his blood go cold like it had the day his father had told him about what his mother was going through and couldn't seem to beat. 

"How did she seem to you man when you took her home earlier?"

Shawn threw a puzzled look in his direction and then remembered what Paul had told him about his mother when they had worked together.

"Fine, she wasn't suicidal Paul. She just needs some time to come to terms with what is happening to her body and to her mind. She will come around and if she wants to work on something with you, then she will. You just can't go there and push her."

* * *

She stood in front of the mirror. It was six hours after Shawn had dropped her off at home and for some unspeakable reason she felt drawn to really look at herself again. Shawn had indeed made her think she was more then her breasts but she still didn't fully believe in it. 

She slowly undid the buttons to her shirt and let it fall down around her arms hitting the floor. She was now stark naked in front of the mirror, open for anyone to see her and judge her. The person she was most afraid of was herself though and she felt her stomach lurch with sickness the longer she stood there.

Stacy let the tears fall then, knowing that soon the well would run dry on them and she would be able to move on without the WWE and without the thing that now had come to mean the most to her, her breasts.

She touched them slowly, letting her fingers run the line of the scars that now lined her chest. She would never have the pleasure of having a child and making sure it had the best start in life now. She was now almost barren, not in her body but most definitely in her mind. She felt the scars and knew they ran deeper then anything she had ever had done before.

Her mind flitted to Paul and wondered if Shawn had done what she had asked and told him about the date and its cancellation. She didn't want to make him feel bad, but she knew that until she came to terms with what was happening to her body, she would never ever be able to be with a man the same way again.

_He understands Stacy. His mother went through it all too and he came out the winner there and never looked back. You must give him a chance to work his magic on you too._

The voice was not her own, but she felt it none the same. She knew the person that had spoken was right, but she knew that until she was ready, Paul wasn't going to get the chance to work anything over on her.

* * *


	8. The Declaration

**Disclaimer:** As appealing as owning some of the World Wrestling Entertainment Superstars is, I really have to take a step back and admit that no, I do not own them, they in fact own themselves and this story is fictional in nature and any similarity to anything happening in real life is purely my way of being a psychic.

**Summary:** Stacy is diagnosed with a life threatening injury causing her to take time away from the ring. Will the love of the most unlikely man bring her back to perfect health or is she destined to have loved and lost in the game of love?

**Genre:** Romantic and Dramatic.

**Additional Info**: 3rd in the Love United Series.

**A/N:** First of all thank you for commending me on using the real and raw emotions in this story because well it is what I was trying to do but not sure if it came across well and now that I have had numerous people tell me that it has indeed been shown, well it means a lot to me. Thank you also for the amount of reviews that have been coming in, believe me the smile on my face is getting harder to hide.

* * *

He pushed open the door to the flower shop a few hours later and slowly slinked his way in. He wasn't a guy that normally bought flowers, so as he walked in, he felt his feet getting harder to move and he didn't have a clue what to do now that he had made his way in the actual store. 

The short older man behind the desk heard the bell above the door and made his way over to where Paul now stood, almost frozen in place. In over thirty years in the business of flowers, he had seen them come in with all shapes, attitudes and sizes, and this one in front of him now seemed to be no different.

"What can I do for you son?" he prodded gently to Paul, hoping his mouth wouldn't be as tip lipped as his feet seemed to be now, almost locked in place on the floor.

"I need to get some flowers for a girl I know. She just went through a medical scare and I want something to cheer her up a little."

The man's eyes widened then, hearing the sympathetic tone in his voice and wondered what serious medical issue the man's friend had been through. "Oh was it very serious?"

"She has cancer of the breasts and ended up having to get them removed."

The man nodded silently and decided that since the man in front of him was opening up that he should do the same.

"My wife died from the same thing. I have just the flower arrangement for your friend."

Within seconds of his declaration the man headed to the back and began preparing what Paul figured was the flower arrangement that would be putty in Stacy's hands. He knew that he should have listened to Shawn and stayed away, but he felt himself drawn to her and he had to make sure for himself that she was alright.

A few minutes later the man came out carrying a wrapped up display of flowers with the top open so Paul could see what he had taken on and done for his customer. Paul peeked over the side of the arrangement and felt his heart soften instantly.

Inside the package were the lightest colored roses, tulips and other budding flowers he had ever seen. He knew what the man had done here, and he wasn't going to waste any time not mentioning it.

"You did this so she would always have something to watch grow is that right?"

The man nodded and flashed a smile that Paul was sure had made the man's wife swoon back in the olden days.

"They are perfect, although I do wonder how you knew what to do so well. Thank you none the less, so what do I owe you?"

The man tallied up the price of what he had done and punching it into the cash register told Paul the price.

"$25.45 sir."

Now Paul wasn't a flowers sort of man but from looking at the amount of flowers in the vase below, he knew the man had at least sliced the price in half.

"Seriously sir, what is the price?"

"It is as I said son, and not a penny more and I will tell you why. When my wife was diagnosed as a young woman with breast cancer she was worried that she would never have some one to hold and watch grow. I couldn't give her what she really wanted so I filled her life with baby flowers. She always had a flower and I know it isn't my place but I think the woman in your life will appreciate it as well."

Paul nodded with a smile and handed over his credit card to the man. As he paid for the flowers and made his way out to his SUV, he realized that if anyone knew what she would like, it had been that elderly man in the flower shop. He smiled to himself and started the car. If there was any way he could get into her heart, he was sure to bet this would be it.

* * *

She had been bored since her spectacle with the mirror a few hours before and she knew that if she didn't start doing something, her mind would never let her rest. So she cleaned up her living room, making the place shine more then it ever had since Andrew and her had found and paid for it a couple years before. 

When she was finished the living room, she started on the kitchen knowing that was the last place in the house other then the bathroom that she wanted to actually clean but knowing it would help keep her mind off her problems.

"_You might not have the breasts anymore but you do have the legs."_

She heard Shawn's words in her head as she put the finishing touches on the dishes that she had chosen to wash by hand in front of her. As she bent back over the sink to let the water drain out, she heard the doorbell go off twice.

She dried her hands and made a run for the door, not expecting anyone and not knowing what she would do when she found out who it was waiting for her. She opened the door and when she did she looked up and came face to face with the one man she had thought she had gotten rid off. The man of the hour being Paul.

"What are you doing here this late?" she asked, throwing politeness out the window for the second door prize of wonder she was feeling.

"I had to bring you these and tell you that I understand why you don't want to go out with me. I thought it would be better to tell you this all in person."

Stacy felt her cheeks run hot as she moved out of the way to let the man into the living room. She had been thinking about him since Shawn had dropped her off and part of her had wished that she hadn't broken the date. She knew it was best for her if she did get out among the living again.

"What are those?" she asked as he passed her the flower arrangement and placing it down on the little side table by the stairs.

"The man at the flower shop said you would like them. He said they are all baby sized flowers that need your help to make them grow. He said that even though I don't understand it, that in some way you might."

Stacy nodded her head, trying to force the tears from coming into her eyes but having no luck. As soon as the tears fell she knew she looked like a mess, but she had to make sure he understood why.

"No one has ever done anything so nice for me before and I really don't know what to say. This has been one hell of a week."

"Was the man right about the flowers?" Paul asked, taking her by the arm and leading her to the couch. "I can take them back if you don't like them."

"No I love them and he was right. I have been so worried about my body that I haven't focused much on my heart. I'm sorry about canceling on you Paul."

Paul sat down with her, and stroked her hair slowly, afraid to admit to the sparks he felt every time he touched her, and his wondering is she was feeling the same thing too.

"Well worry no more Stacy because I am here now, and whatever you need let me do it for you. Just a warning though, this time I won't be so easily pushed away. Let me be here for you like I should have been with my mother."

* * *


	9. The Love Scene

**Disclaimer:** As appealing as owning some of the World Wrestling Entertainment Superstars is, I really have to take a step back and admit that no, I do not own them, they in fact own themselves and this story is fictional in nature and any similarity to anything happening in real life is purely my way of being a psychic.

**Summary:** Stacy is diagnosed with a life threatening injury causing her to take time away from the ring. Will the love of the most unlikely man bring her back to perfect health or is she destined to have loved and lost in the game of love?

**Genre:** Romantic and Dramatic.

**Additional Info**: 3rd in the Love United Series.

**A/N: **Thank you to everyone for the reviews and even the ones that will come after this chapter is posted. They mean a lot. I am also happy that you all felt something about the baby flowers. My intent there was to build a little trust between the two of them and it seems I hit the nail on the head for the readers as well. You will also notice the rating went up for this chapter because although I don't go into it, you get the idea of what happens. I had to make a chapter like this now, because there is a lot more serious stuff to come. Sorry if I offend anyone, LOL

* * *

"I don't know if I can do that Paul. What I mean is I don't know if I can let you get close to me the way you so obviously want to be." 

Paul cringed as she spoke, remembered what Shawn had said about her needing space and of course how he hadn't listened. Now here she was pretty much telling him the same thing and he still didn't want to concede defeat.

"Well what can I say or do to make you see that I won't hurt you?" he managed to creak out before his voice cracked in fear.

"It isn't you that's the issue here Paul, it's me. It has always been me. I didn't pull out of the date because of you or anything that you did. I needed to do it because in all honesty I am not the same woman I was before it."

He stood to his feet then, knowing he would feel better if he was moving as she spoke. He hadn't been the kind of guy to pace around, he left that to the women he got involved with, but now he couldn't think of anything better to do.

"What do you mean you aren't the same woman? The person sitting before me isn't any different. You still have those sparkling eyes, the ones that dance when you smile. You were never known for anything but your legs, and from what I can see, they are filling out quite nicely. You are a vision Stacy and you haven't changed a bit, not from where I am standing."

Secure that he had said his piece he ran his hand over the top of her head. He kissed her forehead gently and knew that as hard as it was going to be to walk away, he had to do it now or forever be burned again.

"I hear what you're saying though, and I know you need your space. So enjoy the flowers, I hope they do what the man at the flower shop said they would and bring you weeks of joy."

As he walked away, Stacy felt the lump grow bigger in her stomach. He was walking away and giving her an easy out, and as much as she wanted to let him do just that, her heart was pulling for him to stay. It was pushing her to stop him and make him stay with her as long as he could.

"Paul wait!" she called as he opened the door to step out onto the stoop.

The minute he heard her voice he turned, and instantly he came face to face with the woman that was driving his heart, body and mind crazy. Not wanting to waste another moment, he pulled her into the deepest kiss, wanting to feel her lips but most of all wanting her to feel his and know that he wasn't going anywhere. Not unless she was by his side anyway.

She let herself be pulled into the kiss and the longer it seemed to last, the more she felt his heartbeat, and the shivers that were running down both of their spines. She gently pulled back and not touching his face, but knowing the need growing inside of her with every moment, she did the only thing she knew to do.

"_Stay with me."_

He heard her whisper and immediately picked her up into his arms and headed for the stairs. He knew in his mind that it wasn't right to take advantage of the situation quite like this, but he knew in his heart it was something that had been brewing since that first day at the hospital. This wasn't just another fling for him; this was what he had been waiting for his entire life. The thing that only dreams are made of.

* * *

She awoke in the bed a few hours later and searched the dark for the body that had warmed her heart and her bed. She ran her hand across the side of the bed that had been vacant since Andrew had walked out on her months before, and although rumpled she found it bare. She sat up in the bed and as she realized what had just taken place between them, she felt cold inside because he had left her so soon after getting what he wanted. 

"He must have gotten scared off by the scars after all. I knew I should have pushed him away." She spoke to herself as the door to the room slid open slowly.

She looked up and when she saw him standing in front of her, a towel around his waist and hair dripping with wetness, she felt her heart grow warm again.

"Did you say something Stacy?" he asked, coming and sitting on the bed, and bringing her face close to his in a tender embrace followed by a kiss. "I hope you don't mind but I took a shower. I pulled out so you wouldn't have to worry about birth control and made a mess of the bed and myself. I also went ahead and made you something."

Her heart picked up in beat as she realized that he hadn't walked out on her like she had thought and he had just wanted to get cleaned up. She looked quickly down at her exposed chest and realized that the scars were staring them both in the face and he didn't seem to even notice.

"I thought you left."

"Yeah I figured you might have thought that which is why I tried to do this as quickly as I could." He stood from the bed, taking the towel with him and walked into the hall where he rolled the food cart in with an array of fruits and ice cream ready for her to taste.

"You did this for me? She squeaked, not believing that any of this was happening to her. She saw the way everything was so nicely lined up on the tray and she couldn't stop the tears from falling.

Paul rolled the cart close to bed and immediately slid into the bed and held her as she let them fall, not once telling her that she needed to stop.

"Its okay baby, it was nothing really. I had a really good time, and I wanted to make sure you did too. I also know that you haven't eaten much the last few hours, so I thought you could use something sweet and healthy in your system."

She wiped the tears from her eyes and just looked at the man in front of her now. She touched his face and let herself touch his lips, just to feel what they felt like when they weren't on hers and she found they felt smoother then ever. Just as she was about to pull away, he reached in and kissed her, making her heartbeat pace faster, and the heat rise.

He pulled away for a split second, and speaking with a husky voice, said the one thing she had been hoping to hear. "How about we leave the fruit for later and just be together again?"

She wrapped her arms around him and let herself be pulled down into the heat of his body for a second time that night. As she closed her eyes, she realized that if this wasn't heaven, it sure felt like it.

* * *


	10. The Surprise

**Disclaimer:** As appealing as owning some of the World Wrestling Entertainment Superstars is, I really have to take a step back and admit that no, I do not own them, they in fact own themselves and this story is fictional in nature and any similarity to anything happening in real life is purely my way of being a psychic.

**Summary:** Stacy is diagnosed with a life threatening injury causing her to take time away from the ring. Will the love of the most unlikely man bring her back to perfect health or is she destined to have loved and lost in the game of love?

**Genre:** Romantic and Dramatic.

**Additional Info**: 3rd in the Love United Series.

**A/N:** Thank you for the reviews that I will receive after this is written for the last chapter. I had an idea for this chapter right after I wrote and posted the last chapter and I wanted to get a head start to it before it ran out of my head. This may be a filler chapter, which means nothing heavy will happen, but then again by the end of it who knows? I am speeding the story along in time line, so look out for that. Also to answer a review I just recieved, I came up with the idea for the flowers from a dream I had about where I wanted to take the story next and boom there it was.I know it isnt the best answer but it's true!! Also thanks for info on the breast surgery. I have heard of it in my research but opted against it for the pure pull of the heartstrings, LOL.

* * *

A week had passed since that fateful night when Paul and she had gotten together and in that time, the snow had fallen around the house, creating the most beautiful picture. The children in her neighborhood were out playing and with all the snowmen arriving in the street, Stacy found herself taking pictures so she would never forget them. 

Her outlook on what had happened to her and what was blooming between her and Paul seemed to be changed, and she had to stop herself sometimes from smiling so much, because it was starting to pain her face. She had been so afraid of living her life in a bubble without work or friends, and here she was now realizing that she was living what life was really about.

Trish had called her a few days before and told her she was flying out, and as Stacy finished getting the house in order, she knew that it wouldn't be long before she eventually walked in her door. Paul had gone back to work, telling her that he couldn't afford any more time away after doing the **Blade** movie and working without the title. He had to make sure that everything went off perfectly for this upcoming show with Randy.

She had understood of course, but had been sad none the less to see him go. She knew that she missed being around the fans more then anything, but she also knew that the best thing for her right now, dealing with what she was dealing with was to have some time to comprehend all of it and think of a new job to take. The WWE had given her the big shot she needed and now she found herself wanting to do something closer to home.

The baby flowers were filling out nicely, what with her not forgetting to water them, and she found herself being taken back to that night a week ago every time she looked at them or watered them. Paul had really turned out to be just like Shawn in that he just cared about her, not about her body.

With her thoughts still following the course of events of the last week, she didn't hear the doorbell ring behind her. She was taken out of her thoughts when it rang the second time, with Trish screaming outside if she was alright in there.

Opening the door, she let her friend enter the house. Stacy noticed that Trish seemed armed with everything a girl would need for a good night out, and as she dumped it all down on the floor as she entered, she passed Stacy the letter she had been carrying in her hand for fear of losing it.

"What is this exactly?" Stacy asked, eyeing the envelope with fear and also with a seed of wonder as well.

"A letter from the other boy toy in my life." Trish said, obviously out of breath from carrying the booze, chocolate and other gifts she had tagged along for the ride.

"It's from Paul?" Stacy asked, as Trish threw her a look and a smile at the change in her voice. She hadn't expected to like him so much, but now that she did, her whole body changed at the thought of him.

"Yeah, it wouldn't be from Shawn would it?" Trish asked with a laugh. She knew how much her husband was wanted on a daily basis by women and girls alike, but it never ceased to amaze her how wonderful he was in not taking anyone up on it.

"No of course not. Shawn knows that if he did anything that wasn't with you, you would kill him."

"Good thing he doesn't test it then huh?"

Stacy laughed and ushered Trish into her living room. As Trish opted to head to the kitchen with the drinks and food, Stacy took the chance to sit down and read the letter Paul had sent along with his sister in law.

_**Stacy,**_

_**Do you know how much I wish I was there with you instead of this ring with the sweaty men? I know you do, and I also know how much you wish you were here too. I knew my sister in law was coming out to see you and well I told her to take this with her before I had even wrote it. I wanted to tell you I miss you, I really did enjoy the night with you a week ago, and as soon as I get the chance to get away, I want to continue where we left off. Maybe the two of you girls can come up with something for us huh? I just wanted you to know how much I think about you and that I can't wait to see you in a couple days time. You really are more special to me then I thought and my heart bleeds without you.**_

_**Paul**_

She wiped the tears from her eyes as she put the letter back into its envelope and while Trish was busy in the kitchen, she took the time to take a look outside around here again. What she saw when she looked out almost made her heart stop beating. There was a car there, which threw her off because Trish had gotten a station wagon for the ride from the airport.

The doorbell rang then and she headed to get it. Before she had a chance to get it though, Trish came running from the kitchen to intercept her.

"You can't get that yet." She muttered, putting herself between the door and Stacy.

"What do you mean I can't get my own door? Someone is out there Trish, what would you say I do?"

Trish smiled then, one of the smiles that she only used when she was up to something. Shawn had warned everyone in the locker room about this smile and as she noticed it now, Stacy had to wonder what Trish had gone ahead and done.

She pushed her friend out of the way and opened the door quickly and came face to face with the man that had just written her the sweetest letter.

"Surprise!!" Trish screamed, jumping up and down, unable to calm herself down as she saw Stacy's expression change from concern to complete and utter shock.

"I'm sorry about Trish Stacy; I told her this was a silly idea. I hope you are happy to see me though."

Not knowing what to say she walked forward and pulling Paul into the house she wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him, letting the sparks continue to fly between them unnoticed.

* * *

"_Score another one for the Hardy master of love!" Jeff hollered, bringing Matt over to see what the commotion was._

"_What the heck did you do now Jeff?"_

'_I got the two of them together. I would like to see you do better."_

"_I got her to go easier on him Jeff, or did you forget that little fact. You wouldn't have gotten this far without me."_

_Jeff laughed and watched his old girlfriend below them, still unable to sit still, excited that her plan had obviously worked._

"_Trish hasn't changed a bit. Although she has no idea that we had something to do with all of this."_

_Matt laughed as he noticed what had gotten Jeff's attention. Trish had always been the matchmaker and she did a good job of it normally, even after what had happened between his brother and her years before. As much as he had jaded her, it was obvious that they still had some sort of unfinished business._

"_Did you mind control Trish to do what you wanted Jeff? If you did I swear to God I will have you pulled off this!"_

_Jeff just smiled and walked away. If he didn't admit to anything then Matt couldn't do anything. Jeff knew what he had done, and that was good enough for him. If it made two people that were meant to be together get together, then what harm did it cause?_

* * *


	11. The Love Connection

**Disclaimer:** As appealing as owning some of the World Wrestling Entertainment Superstars is, I really have to take a step back and admit that no, I do not own them, they in fact own themselves and this story is fictional in nature and any similarity to anything happening in real life is purely my way of being a psychic.

**Summary:** Stacy is diagnosed with a life threatening injury causing her to take time away from the ring. Will the love of the most unlikely man bring her back to perfect health or is she destined to have loved and lost in the game of love?

**Genre:** Romantic and Dramatic.

**Additional Info**: 3rd in the Love United Series.

**A/N:** Okay, I know thus far I have gained a lot of fans, and for that I am thankful but now comes the time of bad news. Well not horrible news, but I felt I needed to warn you. I have had some issues with my internet provider and they pulled the plug, so for that I have lost internet access to my home. Now the good news on that is that I will be back next week, on Tuesday if not before if I can get back here to my parents for a computer in the meantime. I am sorry for the delay this will cause and I hope that all of you as such loyal fans can stick around and handle this chapter until I get back in one week from today. I do appreciate all the support and if you can't stick around then I am glad I had the chance to warm your hearts for a short time.

* * *

Later when Trish and Shawn, who had arrived with Paul left for the evening to go back to their hotel, Stacy was left to cleaning up the place. They had been through quite the fun time, playing games she hadn't played in years, listening to music from when she was a child in the 80's and drinking wine. 

She had been lost in a sea of thoughts about how the evening when Paul brought her back to reality with a jolt. "So it wasn't a bad thing showing up the way I did?"

She smiled and turned to him, letting him take her in his arms. "No of course not, actually it was the best thing that could have happened to me today. I couldn't seem to get a week ago out of my mind."

Paul wrapped her tighter into his strong arms and sighed heavily into her. He really didn't want to think about anything but the wonderful night they had spent together but he couldn't seem to get over that something bad was on the horizon.

"Do you ever worry that it's not over yet?"

She let out a dry cough and pulled away from him then, knowing what he was trying to say but doing her best to keep her mind off of it and on to the good times she had been having in her life now, since Paul had entered it.

"I do, but I don't want to talk about it Paul. I mean we just had the best time of our lives with people that care more about me when that I look like, and well I just don't want to think it could all end soon."

Paul, knowing that she was right, quieted down with the death talk and sat down on the couch, turning on a football game that seemed to be taking up the airwaves.

"What is really on your mind here Paul? Did something trigger this talk?" She knew what the answer was, she always worried about what the future might hold, but when Paul was with it, it seemed to be the last thing she wanted to do. All she wanted to do was enjoy herself.

"I just worry that's all. I mean I haven't had the best track record and neither have you. I just want to make sure what is happening here is right."

She smiled then and pulling him up from his sitting position she moved with him towards the staircase.

"Wait until you see my surprise and then you tell me what is right or not."

When they reached the top of the stairs, Stacy gently pushed the door open and let Paul take the first steps to walking inside to what was awaiting him.

She heard a gasp and as she made her way into the room, she saw that all of her hard work had paid off. She had snuck away near the end of the night when the movie was playing and had worked her magic in this room, even managing to get the one thing that meant the world to Paul placed in the middle of the bed.

"I can't believe you did this for me. How did you know that this would mean so much?"

She reached out for him and spinning him around on his feet and leaned in close to whisper her words before she kissed him.

"The title is the most important thing in your life, and although it isn't real, I thought it would be kind of fun to find out what you are like when you sleep with it."

Paul laughed, the kind of laugh that had a way of shaking her right off her feet, and before it had the chance to do just that, she flopped down on the bed, pulling him right along for the ride. As they both hit the bed they burst out in stronger laughs because along with the belt were rose petals that were so soft it was almost ticklish.

"It used to be the most important thing in my life, something I would have done anything for. Right now though Stacy Keibler, it doesn't even come close to you and the way that I feel about you."

They snuggled more into the bed and as Paul blew out the candles and they lay snug in each other's arms, they both realized they were falling in love with each other.

* * *


	12. The Cold Hard Facts

**Disclaimer:** As appealing as owning some of the World Wrestling Entertainment Superstars is, I really have to take a step back and admit that no, I do not own them, they in fact own themselves and this story is fictional in nature and any similarity to anything happening in real life is purely my way of being a psychic.

**Summary:** Stacy is diagnosed with a life threatening injury causing her to take time away from the ring. Will the love of the most unlikely man bring her back to perfect health or is she destined to have loved and lost in the game of love?

**Genre:** Romantic and Dramatic.

**Additional Info**: 3rd in the Love United Series.

**A/N: **The time away was horrible for me in terms of worrying about losing readers. I do not care so much for reviews like I did before, but when people read me, it makes me feel better about myself as a writer and the hiatus has been horrible that way. It was good in other ways. It did give me the chance to think about where I want to take this next so that I can span it out to last another 14 chapters, and other ideas for the next one, which as usual will come to you at the end of this one and the thank you notes. I also wish to tell you that I have the characters picked and ready for the plucking in the next one and I think it's a pretty good match. Now to those of you that did review the last chapter, which I will have no idea about until the net comes here next week, I do thank you, and I appreciate the support and trust in me. Look for there to be like a ton of updates when I get back online.

* * *

"Thank you for coming to see me on such short notice Stacy. I noticed that you hadn't made that follow up appointment with me and I thought it best to get you in and tell you what I found." 

She shivered through her body as the doctor stood before her talking. She heard everything that was being said but she didn't want to have to sit through any of this worrying anymore. With everything that had happened with Paul in such a short time, the last thing she needed was to hear she was going to die.

"Well what is the bad news Doctor? I assume there is some or you wouldn't have made such a step to get me here."

The doctor smiled weakly, the final nail in the coffin for Stacy, knowing now that in the end this wasn't about sugary coated good news.

"You are right; I didn't call you for a personal chat with a girlfriend. I called you because although the tests looked good on site, further testing has shown otherwise."

"Which means what exactly?" Stacy said, keeping her voice from lifting in tone until she knew just what the hell was happening to her body now.

"It means that we are going to have to get you started on the chemo as soon as possible, as well as some other drugs to fight off the cancer. I cannot guarantee they will take effect fast enough and work, but there is a chance they will."

"So in the meantime I make a plan to die?" she asked coldly, not caring how she sounded anymore as long as it got her the answers she needed. "What is the damage here doctor, seriously? Am I going to die?"

Her doctor took her seat then, noticeably to make herself seem not so personally involved. Although Stacy did take note of it, she didn't appreciate it either way. It wasn't like she had a lot to hope for now.

"What it means Stacy is that you indeed have cancer that has spread and it will take us some time to figure out where. In the meantime this isn't a death sentence as many people have come back from the same place. We just need to get you on the medication and chemotherapy as soon as possible."

"Am I hospital bound?"

The doctor shook her head slowly, allowing Stacy time to comprehend that she wouldn't be frozen to a hospital bed. "Everything can be done from home as long as there can be someone there to take care of you."

She nodded tightly and stood from her chair. "Do what you have to. I will have someone at the house with me at all times if that's what you want. Just fix it Doctor; I don't need to die when I haven't even reached thirty yet."

Nodding the doctor stood from her chair and walked Stacy to the door. Patting the young woman on the arm as she walked from the room, she felt her own blood go cold. As much as she wanted to save this woman from a fate worse then death, she didn't know if she was that much of a miracle worker.

* * *

She had been home for an hour now, running through the motions of living her life, not knowing who she was going to ask to stay with her for the remainder of what was known as her life. She knew that the one person she needed to ask she couldn't, because it would tear him in half, and the only other option was his sister in law and as much as she wanted to admit it, word seemed to have a way of traveling. 

Picking up the phone in a last ditch attempt to talk to someone about it, she dialed the number to the only person in the world that might be able to help her out of a situation this bad. The only friend she hadn't relied on since all of this happened.

"Hello?"

"It's me; do you have a minute to talk?"

"For you, anything princess. What has got you all upset? Before you tell me nothing I can hear it in your voice."

"It's bad Randy; it's really really bad this time."

"What's really bad Stacy?"

"I have cancer Randy, and they didn't get it all the first time around with my breasts. Which means in short story terms that it's running through my body and I don't know where it is or how long I have to live."

There came a few curses on the other end of the line as Randy processed what was going on with his ex girlfriend. They had been together for a few short weeks after Andrew up and left her, and in the end, they just wanted to be friends. He couldn't imagine what his friend was going through now.

"Stacy, stay where you are. I will get a flight out next thing and be there for you."

She heard the hesitation in his voice, knowing it was because of the pay per view that was just around the corner and how important the match was for his career. He wanted to come to her more, but knew what would happen if he did. She had to make sure he stayed where he was, despite how much she wanted him with her now.

"No Randy, I just needed someone to tell all of this too that I trusted. I don't really have anyone left that will listen to me."

"I heard about you walking away a few weeks back Stacy. Whether you believe it or not, you did do the right thing for yourself. Who cares about the fans and the company, they have gone through worse. You need to take care of yourself right now, and the minute I can get away without being canned, I am there for you."

"I know Randy and thanks for listening. I'll let you go now; I have to do some things around here. Thanks for listening to me."

"Always angel and take care of yourself babe. I will call and come to you as soon as I can."

She replaced the receiver on the charger and walked back to the now empty living room. So many good things had happened in this room over the last two weeks and in one smooth move everything was going bad. Was there ever going to be a happy ending to her life?

* * *

"I will be there as soon as I can Stacy, you can count on me. I won't mention a thing to Paul or to Shawn until you want me too." 

"Thanks Trish, it would mean a lot that you didn't right now. I don't want to make them worry needlessly when I don't know how bad all of it is at this point."

"I will book the next flight out. If you don't mind I have to bring the princess along otherwise Shawn isn't going to be able to work."

"What about the Women's Title?"

"I have holidays man, they can write me out with an injury from Kane remember? It's sweet working in this business with all of these men sometimes."

"Well then I guess I will see you sometime in the next couple of days. You don't know how much this means to me right now Trish."

"Don't worry about a thing, Trish to the rescue."

* * *

"_Oh holy shit, what the heck is happening now? We got the two of them together and now she is going to lie to him and keep this deathly secret from him?" Jeff screamed, walking away from the edge of the cloud he was looking over and backing nearer to his older brother who seemed to be brooding to himself._

"_Jeff, not everything works out the way we want it too. Remember how the two of us ended up dead and here all of a sudden?"_

"_Do I have too? I like this angel gig Matt, but I don't think I signed on for being the angel of death."_

_Matt rolled his eyes and looked at his brother, who he noticed looked, really beat up over the whole romantic situation that seemed to be going bad._

"_You aren't the angel of death Jeff; we aren't going to be the ones to kill her. That wasn't what we signed on for."_

"_Then she is going to die?" Jeff squealed, feigning nausea as he sat down lightly on the glowing cloud._

"_Now if I told you that there really wouldn't be any reason for you to get your ass working to make them get together faster now would there?"_

_Jeff rolled his eyes and smacked at his brother, his arm completely running through him and back together at the other end. The one part of being an angel he wished he could change. He hadn't hauled off and smacked his brother for real in a long time and it was making him nuts._

"_Do you always have to answer me with a question?"_

"_Fine Jeff! I don't know what the good man has planned for Stacy or for Paul for that matter. You have to do your job and in the end everything will become clear."_

_He turned away from his brother then, his reason for brooding becoming more and more obvious. He hadn't wanted to die and in the end, whether he knew or didn't know what would happen to Stacy, he didn't want her to have to go through it either._

* * *


	13. The HeartBreak

**Disclaimer:** As appealing as owning some of the World Wrestling Entertainment Superstars is, I really have to take a step back and admit that no, I do not own them, they in fact own themselves and this story is fictional in nature and any similarity to anything happening in real life is purely my way of being a psychic.

**Summary:** Stacy is diagnosed with a life threatening injury causing her to take time away from the ring. Will the love of the most unlikely man bring her back to perfect health or is she destined to have loved and lost in the game of love?

**Genre:** Romantic and Dramatic.

**Additional Info**: 3rd in the Love United Series.

**A/N:** Not to steal a page from Eric or anything but "I'm back and better then ever." I got the whole internet thing sorted out for now and well I hope to bring you the rest of this story before it goes again. Thank you for all the reviews on chapter eleven, I read them all over an hour ago before I updated with chapter twelve. It means a lot to me how much you all love this series. Expect some of the real things happening in wrestling to make their way into this story now, mainly Randy and the incidents he has had of late, as well as Paul keeping the title (like there was any other person that could take it.)

* * *

The machines continued beeping as Paul and Shawn stood before the bed. It had been one hell of a couple of days and there was really no excuse for any of it. Taking it to the poor guy as he did was surely going to earn even more complaints from Shane and Vince. 

"Where is Trish by the way?" Paul asked Shawn as they watched Randy sleeping in the bed before them. He had seen her the previous night on Raw but now he had no idea what had happened to his more then caring sister in law.

"She flew out to be with Stacy, I thought you knew that man considering how close the two of you have gotten in the last few weeks. You barely come to visit anymore."

Paul let his mind process what Shawn had told him and he felt his heart speed up as he got the feeling that something wasn't right. "Why would she have to go out there right now? I am flying in to see her tomorrow."

Shawn just shrugged, knowing it wasn't right to lie to his friend, a man he considered more of a brother then anything else. They had been through a lot of things together and had never managed to lie about any of it, and now here he was turning on his brother because of the woman he loved and the friend that needed her help. He couldn't help at that moment feeling like shit.

"Maybe Stacy wanted girl talk before you land in, did you ever think of that?"

"Yeah I did, but I can feel it in my bones Shawn, something isn't right about this whole thing. I just don't get it."

Shawn shrugged again and took the seat nearest to Randy's bedside desperate to take his mind off his lie and focus on the real reason they were both there.

"Do you think he is going to be alright man? He did take an awful beating two nights running. Back when I was that young that would have taken even me out."

Paul tried to focus on what his buddy was saying, but found himself worrying even more about why Trish had been called out to see Stacy and he hadn't. Granted, he did have the biggest match of his career happening two days before and hadn't wanted to be bothered, but he would have been there for her just the same. What was so serious that he couldn't be there for her and Trish could?

"Listen Shawn, you mind staying here with him for a few minutes? I need to do something real quick."

"You mean you need to get on the horn to Stacy and find out what the hell is wrong don't you? I told you, she probably just wanted to have a girl talk with someone and there isn't anyone there she trusts but Trish. Take it for what it's worth man. I wouldn't lie to you."

Paul cast a glance toward his friend, letting his eyebrows raise at the thought of Shawn actually lying to him. Could it really be possible?

"That's right Shawn; you wouldn't lie to me would you?"

"No man, so just go do your call and see for yourself and then meet me back here."

Paul made his way out of the hospital room, and as he walked down towards the pay phones, prepared to call and make his check in with his girlfriend, he didn't see Shawn disappear from the room and down the hall with his cell phone in hand, ready to head him at the pass.

* * *

Trish's cell rang moments later while she sat watching television with the sickly looking woman known as Stacy in front of her. The chemo had been started that day and it didn't look to Trish like her body wanted to take it. She wasn't a doctor but she was sure that wasn't good, no matter how well Stacy said she felt. 

"Hello?"

"Baby it's me, Paul is going to call you any minute now. You need to make sure you don't let him know what's going on. I feel like shit lying to him but if it's that serious we have to let Stacy do it in her own time."

"Slow down Shawn. Paul is going to call here any minute?"

"Yeah and I'm out of town at the hospital with Randy, making sure he is going to be alright alone."

"Is Paul with you? Will he fly out here without telling you?"

Shawn sighed into the phone and pulled it away from his ear slowly. When Trish started to worry, she got worked up which meant she yelled at him without even trying too.

"Yeah he is here with me, and I need to get back in that room before he comes back. So just tell him that everything is fine, I will do my best to stall his leaving from here."

"Okay baby, thanks for the warning."

Trish hung up the phone and as she sat back down on the couch, she noticed Stacy had heard every word, her eyes sullen, almost as if she was miles away.

"So Paul is coming here?" she managed to choke out of her tired throat.

"No, he is going to call any minute. He is planning on flying out tomorrow though, so you need to tell him something soon."

Stacy rolled her eyes and collapsed back against the back of the couch. When she had found out she had the cancer in her breasts, she thought it would end there, and she would go on with her life alone. What she ended up with however was she was falling in love with a man she would never have planned for, and there was a slight possibility she might not make it through with the cancer. As much as she felt for him, she knew in her heart he didn't need to be hurt this way, not by her or by anyone, not after what had happened with Stephanie.

"I just can't tell him about this Trish. He will want to come out and be with me and see me through it."

"That is bad because why Stacy? Isn't that what he should want to do?"

"It is bad Trish. He is a World Champion, a big part of the company now, and if I take him away from it, in the end, whether I live or die he will hate me for taking him away from it."

Trish took Stacy's hand and in the still of the night looked her in the eyes with a very serious tone. "If you don't tell him, and Shawn cracks then he is going to hate you anyway, which way is better for you?"

* * *

He picked up the receiver, putting it to his ears and listening to the woman asking him to add money for the call. He knew that Shawn was like a brother to him and always had treated him as such but he couldn't help feeling his friend was now holding something back about his own girlfriend. He stared at the money slot, wondering if the real reason Trish was there with her was because she wanted to break it off the easiest way possible and needed a female to plead her case too. 

"No that's stupid; she told me how she feels about me. She wouldn't do that to me. Not every woman is like Stephanie was."

As the thought of Stephanie entered his mind he felt his blood run cold. Of all the times that he should be thinking about her, this wasn't it, and still he couldn't figure out where he had gone wrong and what had made her so damn evil.

"Hey man, you gonna use that phone or not?" a man snapped behind him, breaking his concentration and bringing him back to the task at hand.

"Yeah, what's it to you man? There is another phone down the hall."

When the man had safely walked away, muttering under his breath, he punched the numbers in for Stacy's home, miles away from where he stood at that moment. It rang twice and then he heard her voice, sounding tired and fragile. Something was very much not right after all.

"Stacy, Shawn told me that Trish came out there to see you right after Raw, and I wondered if everything was alright."

"Yes Paul, everything is fine."

"So are we still on for the week together starting tomorrow?" Paul asked, not being able to help the sound of his voice rising in happiness. Happiness he hadn't felt in over two years.

"No Paul, I don't think that is such a good idea. I have a lot going on here right now and I just want to be alone."

"But you aren't alone are you? Trish is there with you. Stacy what is going on? What aren't you telling me?"

Stacy choked back the tears, the same choke that was evident to Paul as being forced out of her and could only stand by and await the worst.

"Paul, I don't think we should see each other for a little while alright? You're a great guy but I have a lot going on right now and I would rather deal with it alone."

He felt his heart breaking before she even finished speaking. He wasn't a man that could be brought to tears at the drop of a hat, but now, standing here at this hospital pay phone, he felt the first one fall. He had known something was wrong, and now here he was finding out that just didn't measure up to what she really wanted anymore.

Not wanting to speak, unable to, he just put the phone back on the hook. He silently walked away from the phone, not knowing where he was going but knowing he had to go somewhere other then where he was. He was halfway to the elevator when he heard Shawn call after him.

Within seconds his best friend in the world was standing beside him and Paul felt his blood run hot as the feeling of reaching out and hitting Shawn came to light.

"How long have you known Shawn?"

Figuring that he was speaking about the cancer coming back, not realizing Stacy hadn't told him, Shawn answered him slowly. "I have known about a week I guess."

"You knew she didn't care about me anymore and wanted to break up with me for a week and you didn't bother to tell me? What the hell is going through your head man, I thought we didn't lie to each other."

It all clued in for Shawn as Paul spoke and he realized what had just happened on the phone. Instead of telling Paul the truth she had broken his heart instead.

"No I didn't know about that man, Trish didn't tell me anything about that."

"Then what did she tell you? What have you known for a week now that I didn't?"

"It's about the cancer man. It came back and she needed someone to be with her for the chemo and didn't want to upset you."

* * *


	14. The Mistake

**Disclaimer:** As appealing as owning some of the World Wrestling Entertainment Superstars is, I really have to take a step back and admit that no, I do not own them, they in fact own themselves and this story is fictional in nature and any similarity to anything happening in real life is purely my way of being a psychic.

**Summary:** Stacy is diagnosed with a life threatening injury causing her to take time away from the ring. Will the love of the most unlikely man bring her back to perfect health or is she destined to have loved and lost in the game of love?

**Genre:** Romantic and Dramatic.

**Additional Info**: 3rd in the Love United Series.

**A/N:** I am glad to see I didn't lose everyone with my time away, thank you so much for the reviews from my loyal fans, it means a lot. I hope I can keep making you happy with this next chapter. It's a song chapter since I haven't gotten a good chance to do one, and this seems to fit. Look at the end for the name and singer of the written song.

* * *

_**I wanted you to know that I love the way you laugh  
I wanna hold you high and steal your pain away  
I keep your photograph, and I know it serves me well  
I wanna hold you high and steal your pain**_

The beer washed through him, warming his body and making the thoughts of Stacy run cold. Shawn had broken down and told him everything, leaving Paul to wonder why she was doing it and why in the world she didn't want him to know about it. He had thought about calling her, explaining that he knew everything and that he would do whatever it took to be with her and help her through it all, but Shawn had nixed it, explaining that if she was ready to tell him then she would be ready to accept him.

So now here he sat, in the shittiest bar only walking distance from the hospital, having asked Shawn to drive him there and leave him, explaining that he wouldn't do anything stupid.

'**_Cause I'm broken when I'm lonesome  
and I don't feel right when you're gone away _**

you've gone away  
you don't feel me here anymore

A woman entered the bar then and when he looked up in the haze of all the beer, all he could see was Stacy, making her way slowly towards him, her eyes locked and not moving.

"What are you doing here? I thought you didn't want me anymore." He muttered through the drunken haze, eyes not rising for one second of the glass he had now almost drained.

"Why would I leave you baby, you're hot stuff."

He laughed then, knowing so because of the sound vibrating off his ribcage. He wasn't going to lose her after all, it had all been a sick joke. She stood in front of him now, glowing as always and ready to except him back. As much as he knew this to be true, he couldn't help feeling something was off. Why wasn't she explaining what happened earlier?

"Well then have a seat and explain what happened on the phone earlier."

The woman looked at him strangely then, as if she had no idea what he was talking about. "What do you mean?"

"You broke up with me remember? I can't believe you played such a fucking cruel joke on me Stacy, I mean come on."

The woman now hearing that he wasn't married and was single all of a sudden decided to play along with the obviously drunk superstar. She had seen him so many times on television; it was hard to believe he was sitting here getting shit faced in front of her.

"I'm sorry baby; I didn't mean a word of it. Now what do you say I get you home and warm in bed and take care of you?"

Paul still reeling from the fact that she was now standing in front of him, not meaning a word that she had said immediately stood to his feet, leaving the money for the beer on the bar for the bartender.

They made their way out of the bar into the ladies waiting car, a car that Stacy didn't own, but a car that knew was going to take Paul back to the bed of the woman he loved.

_**The worst is over now and we can breathe again  
I wanna hold you high, and you steal my pain away  
There's so much left to learn, and no one left to fight  
I wanna hold you high and steal your pain**_

* * *

"You left him where exactly?" Trish yelled when Shawn walked in the door explaining what had happened with Paul. He had been on the flight for the last two hours, in coach and he didn't feel like hearing what an asshole he now was. 

"I left him in the damn bar. What did you think would happen when I told him that she broke his heart because of the cancer? I couldn't exactly tell him I knew she was going to break his heart in half. He doesn't need this shit right now. Where is she by the way?"

"Sleeping in her bed, and if you would lower your voice it would help."

Shawn rolled his eyes and threw his suitcases onto the couch not caring how much noise he made at all. He was pissed off and didn't know how else to deal with it when it came to his wife.

"Fine whatever you want. You mind telling me what the hell is going on with this picture? He is in love with her; it was written all over his face tonight when he had to explain what happened to me. I thought she felt the same!"

"She does, but she doesn't want to die and leave him alone. For some reason Stacy believes he will be more hurt if she holds unto his heart."

They made their way to the couch, Shawn now understanding what Trish had been dealing with on the other end of that phone call earlier. He held his wife close and calmed his voice.

"What do we do now? How long are you here?"

"As long as it takes."

"You mean to tell me that I have to live away from my wife and baby girl until she feels better about all of this?"

Trish smacked him lightly on the arm, understanding how hard this must now be on her husband and wishing she had more answers.

"No silly, just until I can get her to see the light and let Paul help her the way they were meant too."

'_**Cause I'm broken when I'm open  
and I don't feel like I am strong enough  
'Cause I'm broken when I'm lonesome  
and I don't feel right when you're gone away**_

* * *

He awoke a few hours later in the darkness and immediately felt around for the side lamp that he knew Stacy had bought for him the last time he had been there. What he found in its absence was the feel of a woman's body below him, one that felt cold to him. 

"Stacy, can you turn on the light, I can't see my damn way to the bathroom."

The woman sat up in the bed then, and with the haziness gone from his head he noticed the woman he was now looking at wasn't Stacy. In fact she didn't look anything like her. All the way down to her hair color she was different.

"What the hell?" he exclaimed, pushing himself out of the bed and making his way to the door.

"Well I'm not Stacy but we did have one hell of a good time."

He escaped from the room then, the feeling in his stomach stronger then it had been when he had awoken. He had slept with another woman and had been thinking it had been Stacy the entire time. If things weren't bad before, they just got worse.

He made his way to the woman's bathroom and immediately hit the toilet, releasing his sickness into the toilet. His head was now spinning wondering where the hell he had gone wrong, not thinking he had drank that much.

He stood to his feet, and seeing his coat and jacket lying in a heap by the door, he made a fast getaway, only hoping that no one else knew about what had happened that night.

'_**Because I'm broken when I'm lonesome  
and I don't feel right when you're gone away **_

you've gone away  
you don't feel me here anymore

* * *

**A/N2:** The song was **Broken** by** Seether and Amy Lee.**

* * *


	15. The Repercussions

**Disclaimer:** As appealing as owning some of the World Wrestling Entertainment Superstars is, I really have to take a step back and admit that no, I do not own them, they in fact own themselves and this story is fictional in nature and any similarity to anything happening in real life is purely my way of being a psychic.

**Summary:** Stacy is diagnosed with a life threatening injury causing her to take time away from the ring. Will the love of the most unlikely man bring her back to perfect health or is she destined to have loved and lost in the game of love?

**Genre:** Romantic and Dramatic.

**Additional Info**: 3rd in the Love United Series.

**A/N:** I have to say this and then I will answer the one question I got on this story in a review. I have to say welcome back to everyone that reviewed me with a vengeance last night and today. I thought all of you went south of the Melissa, and you didn't! So wow, I feel good having all of you back again! Now, I don't know what was funny about that last chapter, but if you want to review this one and let me know exactly what it was then I might get it. I was trying to make it all serious, but I obviously did a funny, so go me! LOL I am glad I could make someone laugh in this mess of a story.

* * *

**_It seems like every day's the same  
and I'm left to discover on my own  
It seems like everything is grey  
and there's no color to behold  
They say it's over and I'm fine again, yeah  
Try to stay sober feels like I'm dying here_**

He walked into the clinic knowing that this would be the only place he wouldn't be seen as a well known superstar and more of a person. When he had called earlier they had assured him of their discretion and he was gravitating toward believing them.

"Can I help you sir?" the portly young lady asked as she made her way over to him standing by the door.

"Yeah I need to get some blood taken for an HIV test."

She smiled at him then, more out of a sense of feeling for the young man then actually knowing who he was. She motioned over to the station where the blood would be taken and motioned again for him to sit down and take his coat off.

He did as she instructed and she began by pulling the vials out of the desk and putting the ribbon like attachment around his arm, searching for a vein. "There are some questions I have to ask before we start so I know how much blood I need to take and test for you sir."

Paul nodded his head and let out a little smile. He had gone through enough blood tests to know what was going to come out of this woman's mouth before she even spoke.

"Have you had unprotected sex in the last 72 hours?"

He nodded his head; afraid to actually speak out loud what he had done not only to his own body but to the woman he loved and needed to win back. Sure he thought he was sleeping with her, but in the end the drinking wasn't any kind of excuse for it.

"Do you shoot any drugs?"

"No Ma'am I don't do that. I don't do anything like that at all. I just slept with someone I don't know very well and I need to know that she didn't have something beforehand and didn't bother to tell me."

"Well you aren't the first one to come in here with that. Alright shall we proceed with the blood then?"

He nodded and sat back as she did her routine of taking an enormous amount of blood. He had just gotten blood taken a few weeks before, but didn't feel any effects as she pried all the blood she needed from his arm. As she finished up and put a dingy band aid on his arm he wondered how he was going to deal with it if in fact he did turn up with having HIV. Not only would his job go down the drain, but he knew there was no way he could ever be with a woman again.

_**And I am aware now of how  
everything's gonna be fine one day  
Too late, I'm in hell I am prepared now,  
seems everyone's gonna be fine  
One day too late, just as well**_

* * *

_**I feel the dream in me expire  
and there's no one left to blame it on  
I hear you label me a liar  
'cause I can't seem to get this through  
You say it's over, I can sigh again, yeah  
Why try to stay sober when I'm dying here**_

"Yes I have an appointment to have a urine and blood test done." Stacy said as she entered the clinic, knowing she wouldn't be recognized and feeling a little better as she took her seat to wait her turn. Staring at the little orange urine sample bottle in front of her, she couldn't believe that things were now going from bad to worse.

She hadn't heard from Paul since that fateful night when she had broken up with him, and she didn't feel any better having done it. She missed him like mad, and now with her period, which had been always on time late, she worried that she also had another thing that she could never truly deal with.

Trish and Shawn had vowed to stay on as much as they could around their schedule, but she knew it was taking its toll on them, not being able to be alone for a long period of time with their daughter or even between the two of them.

She also knew Trish was right in saying that it would hurt Paul more if she broke his heart now then if he had to deal with losing her to something bigger then both of them. She just didn't know what the right answer was and how long she should wait before admitting to anyone that she was afraid and alone and needed him in her life.

"We are ready for you now Ma'am." The lady called to Stacy pulling her from her thoughts and having her sit in the chair. She passed over the urine sample and sat patiently as they took the blood from her arm. She would know in a matter of minutes what the fate of her missing period meant, and she had to admit she felt a little off knowing that now she could very well be caring Paul's first born son or daughter.

Could a person living with cancer really carry a baby to full term? Sure it had been conceived when she wasn't taking the chemo, but with the chemo and the pills she had to take she was sure a pregnancy wouldn't last very long.

They finished with her and she stood from the chair, feeling sick to her stomach with dread and missing blood. "According to the urine sample you gave us Ms. Keibler, is does indeed show the reason for your being late as being pregnant. We will know more as soon as we get the blood back in a few days. We can call you then."

She nodded her head and walked from the nursing station. She just wanted to get out of there, get something to eat and go home to rest and she seemed not to be able to do it fast enough. As happy as she was to be carrying Paul's child, she had to wonder what the hell was going to happen to her now. It certainly couldn't get any worse.

_**And I am aware now of how  
everything's gonna be fine one day  
Too late, I'm in hell  
I am prepared now,  
seems everyone's gonna be fine  
One day too late; just as well**_

* * *

"_I don't get it Matt. Which one of them is supposed to be the sick one?" Jeff asked as he kept his eyes glued on what was happening below with the two people that were in love and afraid to admit it. _

_**And I'm not scared now.  
I must assure you,  
you're never gonna get away  
And I'm not scared now.  
And I'm not scared now. No…**_

_Matt looked up from some paperwork he was reading, another couple that needed their help after they worked on Stacy and Paul, throwing his brother a look of death. "Paul was stupid enough to sleep with that woman, if he dies it might make things more interesting."_

"_So he does die? Was that written and you just forgot to tell me about it? Did I miss the memo?" Jeff asked sarcastically, pissed off at Matt's obvious disgust with the whole thing. It seemed since he helped Amy fall back in love with Chris you couldn't talk to him anymore._

"_You didn't miss the damn memo Jeff; I don't know anything about that. Paul was not slated to die, I know that for sure, but what he did now could change everything."  
_

_Jeff threw his brother a look of actual concern, causing Matt to relax and more freely answer his brother's questions. _

"_Did he alter the course of his life with that one error? I've slept with tons of people I didn't even really know, fans and such, and didn't know that could kill me."_

"_It can't but you were protected, not only sexually but spiritually. You were meant to give your life for another and you did that. Paul did alter his course but we just have to wait and see where it takes us so we can handle the love story better."_

_Jeff frowned and looked back at Stacy as she left the clinic in a fury, obviously as sick of all of this as he was now finding out that he was._

"_Neither one of them is old enough to die."_

"_Well neither was we and look at us now. I mean really Jeff; you ever picture yourself as an Angel?"_

"_Well with all the ladder matches I should have been dead three years ago, so yeah I guess I can see it a little better then you mister pessimist."_

_Matt stood then, almost begging his younger brother to start something with him. 'What the hell do you want me to do about this?"_

"_You know what Matt, out of all the things I want from you right now, the only thing I want you to really do is care."_

_**I am aware now of how  
everything's gonna be fine one day  
Too late, I'm in hell  
I am prepared now  
seems everyone's gonna be fine  
One day too late, just as well  
I am prepared now,  
seems everything's gonna be fine for me  
For me; for myself.  
For me, for me, for myself  
For me, for me, for myself  
I am prepared now for myself  
I am prepared now, and I am fine again**_

* * *

**A/N2:** The song is **Fine Again **by **Seether.** I thought this might be another good one to put with this chapter as everything is now one big mess. Twilight Zone music can start any time now! LOL.

* * *


	16. The Bombshell

**Disclaimer:** As appealing as owning some of the World Wrestling Entertainment Superstars is, I really have to take a step back and admit that no, I do not own them, they in fact own themselves and this story is fictional in nature and any similarity to anything happening in real life is purely my way of being a psychic.

**Summary:** Stacy is diagnosed with a life threatening injury causing her to take time away from the ring. Will the love of the most unlikely man bring her back to perfect health or is she destined to have loved and lost in the game of love?

**Genre:** Romantic and Dramatic.

**Additional Info**: 3rd in the Love United Series.

**A/N: **Okay so I get why chapter fourteen was now funny and if I look at it the same way as some of you did, then yeah I know tons of people like Paul was in that chapter. It actually is kind of amusing to me that I never even thought of it when I wrote it. I also wanted to let you all know not to give up on the love angle of the story, it will change tides in a few chapters. I am playing on the pain each of them feels but one of them will cave in and they will get back together soon, but for how long? It's always a ride when you read along with me, LOL Thanks for the reviews guys; I hope I keep making you happy. I also have to admit I learned a new word in another language from one of my reviewers, so thank you for that and the alt caps you left the message in, very cool and very cryptic. Also, I like Matt and Jeff talking more then Stacy and Paul too, I am building them for something bigger for story number five. For the record, while they are going through their painful moments, it's all music chapters and all by the same band since they get my point across the best. Look for the song title at the end. Sorry if it's upsetting anyone, LOL

* * *

_**And my words will be here when I'm gone  
As I'm fading away against the wind  
And the words you left me linger on  
As I'm failing again now, never to change this**_

It had been almost a week since she had gone into the clinic for the test that now was defining her life. She was indeed pregnant; they had called her and explained it to her, asking her to get in to see a doctor as soon as she could. Now the only thing left to do was find out what this meant for the cancer and what the effects of the cancer would do to the young developing baby.

She paced the kitchen, knowing that at any moment Shawn and Trish would make themselves known from the side bedroom, which was attached to the kitchen and check up on her again. It seemed all they did these days was ask her how she was. She missed when they used to all be actual friends, doing friendly things. Now everything seemed to revolve around the cancer and when she was going to send them packing.

She knew the answer to only one of those things, which would be today. She seemed to be doing fine on her own, able to get herself to the hospital for testing and taking her own medications, so it was better if they did get back to their life.

Her mind floated back to the pregnancy and the ramifications of it in the long term. She had to tell Paul, she knew if she didn't he would never forgive her, and as she had admitted to herself more in the last few days, she really did miss him more then she could imagine, but from what Shawn had told her, he seemed to have moved on and he was more focused on being the WWE Champion then he had ever been before. He apparently was even amazing the WWE higher ups again, which was something she knew he had needed to do to get by.

Would he even want to be a father? It was something she had gone over in her mind for days since the clinic had called with the blood test results and she wasn't really sure of the answer. If he had moved on with his life then there was no place for a sick girlfriend with a baby in it.

She slammed the coffee cup down on the countertop just as Trish and Shawn walked in, taking them off guard and making them worry.

"Is everything alright Stace?" Trish asked calmly, glancing at her husband and wondering what they were going to do about it if she did have a problem. She seemed to be pulling away at an alarming rate and Trish didn't know how to change it.

"Yeah I guess." Stacy muttered, making Shawn take notice of the way she looked and wondering if there was any other drug that might make her look and feel a little bit better. It must just be the medication that was throwing her off kilter. She was normally a very happy person. Although even he had to admit that since Paul had completely walked away and let their break up stand, she hadn't been herself.

"You want to tell us what's really the matter here Stacy? It's obvious that you aren't yourself."

Stacy looked between the two friends and wondered what it would feel like to let some of her burden off on them. Maybe Shawn could tell her what Paul would think when he heard they were having a child together. Allowing herself to believe that they could help she prepared to open up to them.

"I'm pregnant is what's the matter. I need to go and see my doctor and find out what this means with the cancer and if I can even have a child safely. I also need to tell Paul, and I just don't know if it's the right thing or the faintest idea how to tell him."

After dropping the bomb she watched her friend's reactions. Shawn seemed to be the one that was least affected by it. She had to admit that when it came down to it, men were always the least excited about what was going to happen to him. Trish on the other hand looked like she was seconds from a heart attack.

"You're pregnant? Are you serious Stacy? Oh that is so wonderful!" Trish managed to get out finally, letting Stacy see really how happy she was at hearing the news.

"Yes I am, and I don't know what to do. Shawn can you tell me what you think Paul's reaction to this might be so I can be better prepared?"

Shawn was astounded but he wouldn't let on. He had been assuming that since she broke his heart that she wouldn't want Paul anywhere near a baby of hers and would forgo telling him until years down the road. It wouldn't be the first time that he had been wrong though.

"Stacy, as much as you don't want to admit it, Paul loves you and he is a freaking mess. He is throwing himself more into the company then I ever did, and its all because of what happened with you. If you tell him this now, it might do the two of you a world of good."

She thought about what he had said to her, and she realized now was the best time to tell them what she had decided about their housing arrangements.

"Thank you Shawn, I'll do that soon, once I talk to the doctor about the cancer effects on pregnancy. Also, I think it would be best if you guys went back to Texas and got back to your life in your own house. I am grateful for what you have done for me, but I think I can do this on my own from now on."

**_And I'm sympathetic,  
never letting on I feel the way I do  
as I'm falling apart again at the seam_**

* * *

**_And it seems I'm alone here, hollow again  
as I'm flailing again against the wind  
and the scars I am left with swallow again  
As I'm failing again now, never to change this_**

He awoke with a start and looked around the room. He had been somewhere other then this room and he had been at peace for the first time in two weeks. He knew why he was having these dreams of course; it was because of those damn test results.

He stood from the bed and walked into the bathroom to survey the damage the dream had done to his body. As he stared at his own reflection he knew there was only one thing in the world that would ever make him be at peace again. He needed to go to Stacy and find out why she had turned him away. Shawn had told him he was because of the cancer, but he didn't know how serious it was, and why she hadn't wanted him to be there for it all. It was about time he went to her and told her he wasn't taking no for an answer.

He had done it before, and in the end he had been with her and for once the title that he now held didn't mean shit to him. Now when he didn't have her to hold onto again, it seemed the title was the only thing left for his life. He wasn't supposed to be with a woman, he was meant to be a champion and that was the end of it.

_You love her man; you loved her since that first meeting in the clinic._

As the thought formed in his mind, not in his own voice but that of another person he vaguely remembered, he knew it was right and that he really did love her. If there was something that could take over his love of wrestling, it had to be the love of the sweetest woman in the world and he really did believe he had found it.

He had to go to her and win her back; whatever it took he wouldn't settle for being without her for another minute longer.

_**And I'm sympathetic,  
never letting on I feel the way I do  
As I'm falling apart again at the seam  
And I'm sympathetic,  
never letting on I feel the way I do  
As I'm falling apart again at the seam**_

The hotel phone rang then, raking him away from his thoughts of winning Stacy back and into the present where he was late for the gym and the workout he had scheduled with Ric and Dave.

"Yeah?"

"Sir, I have a call from a Ms. Stacy Keibler, will you accept the charges?"

"Yes of course, put her through." He heard the hotel operator putting her through and braced himself for what was about to happen.

"Paul?"

"Yeah, what can I do for you Stacy?" he asked, trying not to let on how happy he was that she had called him at the same moment as he had made the pact to win her back. There had to be someone upstairs looking out for him if this was happening right now.

"I needed to talk to you, when is there a free day you can come down to see me?"

Paul wondered what she had wanted to talk to him about, believing in his heart that she was finally going to allow him back into her heart. It never occurred to him that it might be something else so he had to get it out of her now.

"Well you called me; you can tell me on the phone can't you? I won't be able to come out for a few days, it's busy right now."

"Yeah I guess I can tell you on the phone if you can't make it out." She replied sullenly, obviously not wanting to get into anything serious over the phone.

Paul had to admit he didn't want to either but he needed to hear what she had to say now before he boarded a plane. "So what is it Stace? Is everything alright?"

"No it's not Paul, I mean I have to go to the doctor to get some things checked out but I think you should know that—

"That you love me right?" he blurted out, cutting her off, not allowing her to finish her complete thought.

"No Paul, I mean yes but it's more then that. Paul I'm pregnant and I thought you might want to know that I didn't sleep with anyone but you. I'm having your baby Paul."

He dropped the phone receiver to the floor then in complete and utter shock. If things couldn't get any more serious, she loved him and she was going to have his child. What did this mean for them and their future and was it even possible in her condition to have a baby?

_**The same old feelings are taking over  
and I can't seem to make them go away  
And I can't take all the pressure sober,  
but I can't seem to make it go away  
The same old feelings are taking over  
and I can't seem to make them go away  
And I can't take all the pressure sober  
(I can't make it go away. I can't make it go away)**_

"Paul are you there? Come on Paul answer me." Stacy cried through the phone, not knowing what had happened on the other end of the call and worried he had fainted and hurt himself.

Paul picked up the receiver then and not answering her he placed it back on the hook. Of all the things to tell him now, it wasn't so much that she loved him, she was calling to tell him that she was pregnant and doing the right thing by letting him know about it.

He reached for the bottle beside the bed then and in one swift moment put it to his lips and let the warm sensation of the whisky run through him bringing him back into the darkness that seemed to now be his new life.

_**And I'm sympathetic,  
never letting on I feel the way I do  
As I'm falling apart again at the seam  
And I'm sympathetic,  
never letting on I feel the way I do  
As I'm falling apart again at the seam  
And I'm falling, falling, falling,  
falling, falling, falling, falling  
Apart again at the seam.**_

* * *

A/N2: The song is called **Sympathetic** and it is by **Seether**. Again it's the same album Disclaimer II and I don't own it but I do think the album rocks. It's the last song of the story though, so you can all breathe a sigh of relief.

* * *


	17. The Angel

**Disclaimer:** As appealing as owning some of the World Wrestling Entertainment Superstars is, I really have to take a step back and admit that no, I do not own them, they in fact own themselves and this story is fictional in nature and any similarity to anything happening in real life is purely my way of being a psychic.

**Summary:** Stacy is diagnosed with a life threatening injury causing her to take time away from the ring. Will the love of the most unlikely man bring her back to perfect health or is she destined to have loved and lost in the game of love?

**Genre:** Romantic and Dramatic.

**Additional Info**: 3rd in the Love United Series.

**A/N:** Okay the only thing I shall say here is let the good times roll. I have used and abused the song part of the story but clamming them all in together and as I said before, now I will get on with the good end of the story. It will not end for another 8 or 9 chapter, so expect some other stuff to get in the way. You never can tell with me and what comes out with the power of the keyboard. Thank you for the reviews and I hope you like this chapter as much as I did writing it.

* * *

He boarded the plane with trepidation, not knowing the real reason for going to her now, but knowing there were numerous reasons for the immediate jump. He had taken his worry to Shane who had in turn let him off for the Monday night production of Raw that was happening now as the spoke. With all the horror that had happened when Stephanie tried to kill Trish and even her father and brother, it was a wonder that Shane held no ill will towards him. 

Was it true? Would he become the father he had wanted to for all of those years he was married to Stephanie? Could it be happening now with a woman that was no where near what his ex had been? He had admitted to himself that what he felt for Stacy was unlike anything he had ever felt before. Being away from her just made him yearn more for her and he even had to admit he was feeling real love for the first time in years. Could this woman of his dreams really be caring his child? And what where the chances that everything would now work out alright for them?

The cancer bothered him. Shawn hadn't told him what he wanted to know and he was left to question just how far gone she was now. Had it returned or was she only concerned about it coming back. A lot of woman did have children that didn't have breasts anymore and it worked out fine, there was such a thing as formula, which he was raised on for years. Which left him to wonder again just had horribly bad things had gotten for her since their impromptu breakup.

"I have to get to her before she does anything she might regret. If she really is carrying our child then I have to be there for her no matter what." He muttered to himself, remembered just how horrible he had acted on the phone with her only hours beforehand in the hotel. Hanging up on her and making her worry the way he probably did just wasn't the way he dealt with things. Neither was the idea of sleeping with someone else and really believing the booze made her look like Stacy.

Would she forgive him for that or would he be doomed to live out his life away from the only woman he knew he would ever really love and their son or daughter? He admitted to himself that he knew her better then that, and since they hadn't been together, she might just understand after all. But would she really understand after he told her about the tests and what they had uncovered?

He sat back and waited for take off, knowing that in only a few short hours he would be with her again and no matter what had happened between them before, he was damn sure going to make it all work out the right way. He needed her and the first thing he needed to do when he saw her was to tell her just that, and that he loved her. No more games. He wasn't willing to give up on what they had anymore. He only hoped she felt the same way.

* * *

She heard the click of the phone with her own ears. He had hung up on her after she bared her soul and told him that she was carrying his child. Did she really want someone to be a father to her child that couldn't even answer her and choosing to hang up instead? 

She really wanted to believe that he loved her, but he hadn't said it, even when she had admitted to him that yes she did indeed love the poor lug and wanted to make a life with him. There was no more getting around it. She had thought she was in love with Andrew when they had been together, but then look how that turned out. The WWE let him go and he decided that since she stayed, she was no good for anything and went out and cheated on her. He wasn't the man for her, and she really hoped that this wasn't going to work out the same way.

He did love his title, and she knew it, which is why she had done what she did for him weeks ago. When he had told her that she had meant more then any title, she was sure he was going to admit that there was more then friendship and sex between them. There was a stronger bond that couldn't seem to be broken. At least she had thought that's what would have happened. What instead he did was fall asleep in her arms, never letting her really know what his game was.

Now here she sat, pregnant, alone and wondering why she deserved all of this. Sure she wasn't a real wrestler, but she had done what it took to learn from some of the best of them. She and Trish had even worked out on more then one occasion. There was a term known in the business of whoring the Diva's and well, she didn't want to be one of the ones that had that happen to her, but she didn't think that warranted getting cancer and being hung up on by the father of her now growing child.

"I wish I knew where you stood Paul. All I have ever wanted to know this whole time is where you stood." As she said it, she knew there was more too it. "I really thought you meant what you said to me, and that you would really end up being there while I went through all of this, and the minute I break up with you and Shawn tells you the truth, you still don't come back to me."

She knew no one would answer her and that it was a lost cause to even get her hopes up where Paul was concerned but she didn't know any better. She had been taken in by him and now she had to wait him out and see what he wanted to do.

As she paced back and forth in the living room, wondering whether or not to call the hotel back and get him on the phone, she saw the brightest light enter the room and in seconds, was taken aback at the sight in front of her. Someone she knew, someone she had once cared a lot about.

"_Stacy, whatever you want to do right now, please don't scream, I don't think my ears could take it."_

Her eyes widened but she shut off the reflex that told her that she should scream. What the hell was happening to her now?

"_What's happening is I have come here to tell you a few things that you have been searching answers for?"_

"Like what?"

"_Paul does love you Stacy, more then you can even imagine. He did want to be there with you through whatever you had to do with the cancer, and instead you pushed him away. He still wanted to be with you though, and only did what he thought you wanted."_

"You don't know what the hell you're talking about. You are supposed to be dead, how the hell can you be here and how the hell do you know so much about Paul and me?"

"_No offense Stacy, but everyone knows about you and Paul by now. You two are the most dramatic people I have ever seen. I came here to do a job and I have done it. He is on his way here now, and you better be nice when he comes. Don't you see? Who the hell do you think put the two of you together?"_

Taken aback at the way he was speaking to her, she had half the nerve to walk away but she knew that nothing was alright here. There was a ghost or an angel of a man standing in her living room that had put them together and was doing his dandiest to make sure they didn't split up for good. As much as she understood what was happening, it still made no sense on the surface.

"You—put us together?"

"_Yes Stacy, I may not be living anymore but I do have ability to see real lasting love. Not to mention by dick ass brother said I didn't care so I had to do something drastic so he would get off my case."_

"Jeff is with you? What are you guys, ghosts or something?"

"_Angels as a matter of fact. Yeah I know it's pretty weird to be saying that considered what an ass I could be when I was living, but after I died, I got stuck putting real people together in loving and lasting relationships."_

Stacy smiled slightly and realized that although she wasn't sure this was actually happening that she did have a ton of questions for him.

"_Before you ask anything let me finish what I came here to do. Paul slept with another woman when you broke up with him, in turn breaking the poor dude's heart in half. He took an HIV test and it came back negative, so you had better not hold him to that. He does in fact have a sexual disease, but nothing some really odd looking cream shouldn't fix."_

"How do you know all of this? I thought God put people together."

"_Well she is kind of backed up at the moment making sure you don't die and then screw up our jobs on us. So you will have to excuse her for that."_

Although he was being sarcastic, she had to wonder if he really knew how this cancer disaster would all turn out.

"Is it really that bad? Is there a chance I could actually die?"

"_Oh now you sound like Jeff. I don't have a sweet clue doll face, but whatever you do; do not let a good guy like Paul go. Now I don't know why the hell I am saying that since he makes hell for wrestlers in the WWE locker room with his politics, but he loves you, and you love him and you two belong together, for however long you have."_

Before she could ask any more questions he vanished and the light in the living room dimmed until it was back to normal. Stacy shook her head and sat down on the couch, going over everything Matt had said while he was standing before her in the most beautiful light. Maybe he did have a point. Knowing everything she did now, she knew just what she had to do when he showed up there tonight.

* * *


	18. The Revelation

**Disclaimer:** As appealing as owning some of the World Wrestling Entertainment Superstars is, I really have to take a step back and admit that no, I do not own them, they in fact own themselves and this story is fictional in nature and any similarity to anything happening in real life is purely my way of being a psychic.

**Summary:** Stacy is diagnosed with a life threatening injury causing her to take time away from the ring. Will the love of the most unlikely man bring her back to perfect health or is she destined to have loved and lost in the game of love?

**Genre:** Romantic and Dramatic.

**Additional Info**: 3rd in the Love United Series.

**A/N:** I was thinking of putting them together and making that last chapter an extra long one, but after the conversation I had with Matt and Stacy, it seemed better to let that one thing stand on its own. So this is basically part two of that last chapter and then I can move forward in time in other chapters. I hope I can display the emotions of this chapter, which are going to be pretty strong, heartstring kind of one ya know? So yeah get the tissues ready I guess. Also look for some more Matt and Jeff action and no I don't mean in the sexual way but the funny way they always are. Thank you for the reviews and well see you in the next chapter with more rambling.

* * *

The closer he got to the house the more in knots his stomach seemed to go with no immediate end in site. The way his insides were acting it was like he was sixteen all over again and he was going to take the girl next door to the prom and he wasn't worthy of her. It didn't suit him, and he didn't exactly like it, but he knew the reason that it was unrelenting. 

_Let's hope she takes you back after what you have to tell her huh big shot._ His inner voice said, adding even more worry to his already upset stomach. He had to be able to make all of this right, and if he couldn't well he didn't see much left for him beyond the in ring ability he did manage to have. _If you don't have her you don't have anything._ The voice said again, the same one he had been hearing for weeks, pushing him on to where he was now, in the cab on the way to her house to make all of this right again. He did have to admit though, the voice had a point, and he only wished he could shut the damn thing off.

"Who the hell needs an inner voice if all it does is bitch at you?" he asked aloud, making even the cab driver take notice of him finally. That was the last thing Paul wanted though, as he didn't want people thinking he had lost his mind.

No, the only thing he lost was his heart, to women who didn't seem to give a damn in the long run about him, just about where he could take them.

"_Do you want me to throw you a pity party or what man?" the voice said again, this time not in his head but sitting right beside him._

"What in the holy hell are you doing here? Aren't you supposed to dead or something?" Paul asked slowly, struggling to remain calm as the younger man sat beside him. If he made mention to the driver that someone else was with them, the only place he would end up was on his ass on the side of the road begging for a ride.

"_Crossed Over to the other side as a matter of fact? You got some sort of problem with that?"_

Paul shrugged and tried to look away, but with the amount of light streaming into the darkened cab, he knew that was a long shot. He couldn't turn away from the light.

"_Well then just sit there and listen alright? Now I know that's going to be hard for you but bear with me."_

Paul nodded his head and did exactly what the ghost on the right hand side of him told him to do. He didn't want to cross someone that was already dead, who knows what that would do to a guy?

"_She knows everything she needs to know, including that part about the disease you are taking care of with that god awful cream. Someone already got to her and told her and believe me it wasn't Shawn like you're thinking."_

"How do you know what I'm thinking?"

"_It's a gift man, and believe me, you do need to shut your brain off when you sleep because when you stay awake that means I never sleep and I hate not sleeping."_

"What exactly do you want from me?" Paul asked, whispered so the cabby would just think he was talking to himself or better yet on a cell phone to a woman.

"_I want you to smarten up and when you get to the girl's front door you take her in your arms and love her, tell her so and never let her go. How does that sound?"_

"I was going to do that anyway you imbecile."

"_Yeah but the difference here is you don't have to drop a bombshell on her. My brother already did that for you and made her see the light."_

Paul was taken aback by what Jeff was now telling him. He had mentioned that someone had told Stacy everything, even about having a mild case of the crabs, but he hadn't mentioned it had been Matt. What the hell was going on with the world now that dead people were telling secrets?

"_God is a little busy trying to save her if you know what I mean. She doesn't want to have to worry about putting people in deep love together. So she makes us do all of that, including reading your mind, playing on your emotions and all that."_

"So you are saying that Matt went to her just like you are now and told her everything?"

"_Give the man a cookie for that. Yeah that is exactly what I am telling you. Now all you have to do is take it from there and make sure you treat her good. The jury is still out on whether she lives through the cancer or not."_

Paul started shaking then with the realization that whatever was happening with Stacy was serious enough for angels to be coming to him to help him stay with her. So when she had kicked him away from her, she had done so because she hadn't wanted to end up leaving him in the wrong way. She really did love him.

_Jeff laughed then, knowing what Paul had just come to terms with. "If I had a cookie jar you would really clean me out man. Seriously though, we don't have all the answers, just some of them, and the ones we do have are to stop you from breaking apart again."_

He vanished then, leaving Paul to think about everything that had gone on in the last few weeks. Everything she had done had been for a good reason, but he needed to show her that the kind of guy she thought he was wasn't the real Paul Levesque. Just as he came to that realization, the cabbie pulled up at the door, ready to let his passenger deal with his own fate.

* * *

Stacy heard a rustling sound in her bushes and knew that either someone was lurking outside or Paul was just too darn scared to knock on her door to let her know he had arrived. 

She still had Matt's conversation deeply imbedded in her mind and she now knew why he was afraid to just come in and see her. He had a secret that he thought she didn't know and now he didn't know what to do about it. Not wasting another minute she hightailed it to the door, swinging it open and looking out over the porch to the very bush where she heard the noise.

"You can come in now Paul, I know you are there."

He moved then, out of the shadow of her porch and into the light of her house. He didn't say a word as he walked in, not really sure where to begin, but knew that it would have to start soon.

"Stacy I love you." He sputtered out, before she even had a chance to fully close the door and turn around to face him.

"I know you do and I love you too. There are a lot of things we need to talk about now that you are here though." Then with sudden realization, something hit her full force. "Shouldn't you be on Raw right now?"

"Shane pulled me out at the last minute so I could come here and be with you. I know we have a lot to talk about but the most important thing is that I love you and I am sorry for whatever I did when you sent me away."

Stacy's eyes were glistening with tears but filled as well with the light of hope. It seemed that when Matt had made his speech, she had finally listened and decided to tell the truth.

"I know you slept with someone and that she gave you something that prevents us from making love and it is alright Paul."

"It's alright?"

"Yes because if I would have had the balls to tell you this instead of pushing you away, you never would have done what you did. So you see, you might think you cheated on me, but I wasn't around long enough for you to cheat on. I know you didn't mean it, and I know you believe in your heart it was a mistake and have been paying for it ever since. I just want to tell you I'm sorry for causing all of this for you and for myself, I never should have lied to you."

"You had every right, how did you know I would want to stick around when you got sick?"

"I did know in my heart you would have, but I didn't want to have to say good bye later."

Paul pulled off his shoes and headed into the living room, grabbing her hand and taking her along for the ride. If they were going to get into this now, it was better done sitting down and comfortable. At least he knew she wouldn't be walking out of his life again this time. She was ready just as he was to be honest.

"So why don't you tell me what you couldn't tell me all those weeks ago? Just how bad has the cancer gotten Stacy? Don't worry about me taking it wrong, I can take it."

"It spread and I am on medications. I had Trish come out and I made their lives worse for doing it so I sent her away to deal with it myself. I couldn't tell you all of it Paul because I was scared I would lose you. I don't mean lose you now, because for some reason I knew back then and I know now that you wouldn't just walk away from me. You knew all about the cancer before we even got together and you stuck around as a friend. I was scared to lose you later on. I didn't want us to become really close, close enough for marriage and children and a long life and then by some sick twist of fate I pull out and die on you, leaving you alone again. I didn't want you to ever be really alone. I thought it would be better if you found someone else."

"I don't want anyone else."

"I know that now, I had someone show me the light where you were concerned. I always knew you didn't but I needed a little bit of reassurance."

"So you found what you needed then?"

"Yeah and you wont believe from who."

Paul smiled then, trying hard not to let on that he knew what she was going to say. Matt and Jeff had stood up and stepped in and got them back together. Whether he wanted to admit it or not, they had done them a world of favors.

"Let me guess, you were visited by the other half of the Hardy brothers?"

She laughed then, and cuddled deeper into him knowing that no matter what happened she was completely safe having him there with her. "You too?"

"Yeah, I got Jeff telling me to get my ass in gear. Apparently you had Matt telling you the same thing."

She nodded and then found the right words to say to get her point across. "Yeah I did and I have to admit if I didn't have him things wouldn't be this clear right now. I spent all this time worrying about dying and leaving you and hurting you and the one thing that I should have been focused on was living."

"Well I'm not going anywhere for a long time, so what do you say we start living a little bit?" and with that he placed his hand onto her still small stomach, knowing that at least for now, even though they didn't have all the answers, they had each other, and the little baby growing inside of her.

* * *


	19. The Pain

**Disclaimer:** As appealing as owning some of the World Wrestling Entertainment Superstars is, I really have to take a step back and admit that no, I do not own them, they in fact own themselves and this story is fictional in nature and any similarity to anything happening in real life is purely my way of being a psychic.

**Summary:** Stacy is diagnosed with a life threatening injury causing her to take time away from the ring. Will the love of the most unlikely man bring her back to perfect health or is she destined to have loved and lost in the game of love?

**Genre:** Romantic and Dramatic.

**Additional Info**: 3rd in the Love United Series.

**A/N:** I took the day off to do some research on cancer and pregnancy and from what I have read and what I finally decided I wanted to do where the pregnancy was concerned; I believe I can write a better chapter. Sorry for those of you that was waiting for the next chapter right away, but after Sunday night and writing that long ass chapter, I thought I also needed a bit of a break. But never fear, I am back and I do intend to keep this going quickly until its end. I have the main idea and cast for the next story and am anxious to get going on that right away. So look for two chapter updates today, and then back to the normal one for the next six days after that. By next week you should have an ending and a new story. I also have seen Dogma, so yes I believe that at least in part, God is indeed a female. I mean could a man really do all the compassionate things he did? Anyway, no male bashing, I love men, LOL Thank you for the reviews and I hope I continue to keep your interested. Bring tissues for the chapters ahead and to the end though, they aren't the prettiest ones. This one will cut a little too close to home so bear with it.

* * *

The pain hit with such force it brought her out of the dream and into the dark reality which was her room. Looking around, trying to get a feel for what was going on she felt the pain again, making her almost loose her balance and fall off the bed. 

She stood immediately, which caused Paul to stir and move closer to where her body had just been molded to the bed. Knowing something was the matter but not wanting to wake him if she was wrong, she cuddled him back into the blankets and back into slumber.

She crossed the room, the pain getting worse with every move she made. It felt like no matter whether she sat or stood the pain just kept on hitting her with full force. She had gone to the doctor and had been told that the pregnancy might reach a point like this but she had never thought it would hit this soon. What was happening to her body now?

She made it to the bathroom and with the sudden urge to urinate she sat on the cold seat. The mirror was placed so that when she looked up she came face to face with her ashen face and worried interior. She really had no idea what the pain was supposed to mean and she was sure she didn't want to know. All she wanted now was for it to go away.

What she realized suddenly, when the smell got almost too strong to take, was that she wasn't urinating but indeed she was bleeding, and the cramps that came as more came out of her told her that she needed to get help as fast as she could.

Knowing her voice wasn't quite yet workable, since she had been in the dead sleep for hours before the madness started, she pushed out the first meager sound of his name, with that out of the way she felt her vocal chords waking up and knew that she had better scream now and make it a good one. Something was happening to her and to the baby and she needed to get to a hospital.

"Paul! If you can hear me get the hell in the bathroom, something is happening!"

He stirred from the bed, hearing her screams over and over in his head. So loud in fact that they had broken the barrier to his dreams and was now affecting his body, in the sick feeling he now had in his own stomach.

He dashed from the bed, and immediately ran to where she had told him to go slamming his way through the bathroom door without a seconds glance. When he skidded to a stop at the foot of the porcelain bowl, he saw what she was concerned about. There was blood, and it seemed now to follow all the way back to the bed and into the bathroom where it was now pooled at its worst.

He had been in many matches and had many bloody incidents that weren't meant to happen, but he knew this one before him now was different. He hadn't been hit with a cage and neither had Stacy. She had lost an enormous amount of blood and she hadn't even been in the middle of the ring. She was crying then, and he immediately scooped her up from where she sat and carried her down the stairs, the sickening blood trail following after them like a deadly omen.

"You need to tell me what happened Stacy. I am going to call 911 but I need to know what to tell them. What happened to you?"

"The baby Paul, just tell them the address and tell them it's the baby and they had better make it fast."

Paul laid her gently down on the couch, covering her bottom with a cover so the blood wouldn't be something he had to worry about cleaning up later. He rubbed her head gently and placed the most gentle of kisses on her lips before he made a break for the phone in the kitchen.

"Please hurry." She heard him screaming into the phone, probably yelling with all his might at the 911 operator. "My girlfriend is pregnant and there is a lot of blood right now. Please help us."

* * *

"_Did you know about that Matt? Is that what you have been so down in the dumps about?" Jeff asked his eyes filled with what looked like tears as he felt the pain of Stacy right along with her. For the first time since he had become an angel, he knew there was nothing he could do to help this, a part of life's lessons and that the baby would surely die. It didn't make him feel any better knowing that was all part of a plan though._

"_Yes Jeff I knew that she was going to lose the baby. I think even she knew after meeting with the doctor only days before and getting the same prognosis. With all of the drugs she needs to be taking to fight the cancer, it isn't safe for her to carry a pregnancy."_

"_Jesus Matt isn't there anything we can do? We appeared to her didn't we? We can surely go down there and save them like you saved Chris that time."_

_Matt noticed his brothers face, feeling the pain he now had running through him as well. He felt Paul's pain as he watched Stacy get loaded into the ambulance. Of all the things she wanted to happen for them, this hadn't been one of them. He knew what his brother meant though; Matt had healed a wound before._

"_I can't Jeff, if I did that I would mess with their life plan and it might mean the end of one of them as well."_

_Jeff threw his brother a gaze that looked like he didn't care what it would do. He just wanted to save the innocent baby that was growing inside her. The baby that was born of real love, which most babies weren't nowadays. There had to be some way to help those two keep their child and make it through all of this intact._

"_If you can do it, then that means that I can do it now too right?" he asked, an idea pulling him to the other side. _

"_Jeff listen to me and listen good bro, you better not do what I think you are going to do. You cannot meddle with life or one of them could die."_

_Jeff laughed then, causing his brother to take a step back and admire him. Even as an angel he was losing his mind with grief and felt he needed to do something. Matt knew that meant he was a good person._

"_Isn't one of them going to die anyway? I keep hearing how Heaven is amazing and how we are sent down as angels to do HER bidding, and in the end all I see is pain. Screw pain and screw you. If you won't go down there and save her baby then I damn sure will."_

_He vanished before Matt then, making his bones go cold. Although his brother had a point, it wasn't written in stone yet and if Jeff got involved it surely would be. He had to do whatever it took to stop is little brother, even if that meant stripping him of being an angel. _

* * *

"Mr. Levesque? You can go in to see your girlfriend now. She is resting comfortably." The doctor said making his way out of the room and taking a seat where Paul was now seated going out of his mind with fear. 

"The baby, is the baby alright Doctor?" Paul creaked out painfully, knowing what the answer would be even before the doctor told him.

"I am afraid not Paul. There was a chance when we were in there with her where it looked like everything was fine, but then the worst happened and we couldn't stop it. She was already heavily into the miscarriage when she arrived here. I am sorry sir but your daughter is dead."

_He was having a daughter?_ Well not having anymore, but knowing that it was a little girl that would have looked so similar to her mother; he couldn't help but let his heart be warm with the thought of it. Stacy had always mentioned wanting a little girl that she could put in dresses, as was the protocol for little girls. Paul had recently come to terms with having a child after all this time and to hear it was gone now let the pain rip through from below again, causing him to let the tears fall.

"Does she know that the baby is gone?"

"No she doesn't at this time because she has been heavily sedated and it wouldn't be wise telling her now. She is sleeping easily though and it looks like everything is running smoothly."

Paul headed for the hospital room, his heart ripped out of him for the second time in as many weeks. How was he going to tell the woman that he loved that the baby they had made out of love was now gone and all she had left was him? As much as he knew she cared about him, he also knew that it might not be enough anymore. She had always wanted to have a child.

He opened the door to the nurse finishing up with her check and rushing out, mentioning something about getting a Doctor. Paul looked from the lady to his girlfriend, the woman of his dreams and he realized something wasn't right.

"Mr. Lévesque we are going to have to ask you to leave again while I look over Stacy."

"But—what happened here Doctor? I thought you said she was fine?"

"She was, but now apparently the cancer has been spread to a vital organ and if I don't get her into surgery, your child might not be the only one that passes away on my watch tonight."

He watched as the transferred her over to the wheeled bed and moved her from the room at an alarming pace. As he watched them disappear down the hallway, he hit the floor, putting his hands together in a foreign way he hadn't done since his mother had been alive. He only hoped now that it worked.

"God help me, if you can hear me and you aren't too mad at me for what I've done to my life please help Stacy now. Do not let her die and leave me alone."

* * *


	20. The Life Changing Moment

**Disclaimer:** As appealing as owning some of the World Wrestling Entertainment Superstars is, I really have to take a step back and admit that no, I do not own them, they in fact own themselves and this story is fictional in nature and any similarity to anything happening in real life is purely my way of being a psychic.

**Summary:** Stacy is diagnosed with a life threatening injury causing her to take time away from the ring. Will the love of the most unlikely man bring her back to perfect health or is she destined to have loved and lost in the game of love?

**Genre:** Romantic and Dramatic.

**Additional Info**: 3rd in the Love United Series.

**A/N:** Okay so that last chapter just about killed me but I wouldn't be a writer and a person dedicated to love if I didn't make the second chapter to the last one. The painful part is over and on comes the angelic part. Look for this chapter to deal with a lot of heavenly forces, except for God herself because well if I spoke for her what kind of person would I be? None the less for those of you that review before this posts today, thank you, and thank you for this one too when the time comes and you review it. The story is about four chapters away from closing off in actual fact so more thank you notes will come then. Keep those tissues handy though, it might be an angelic chapter but it should be another whopper since I am on a roll with those today.

* * *

"_Do you see what you have done now Jeff?" Matt said as the both stood by in the hospital, watching Paul before them on his knees looking for a miracle or at least some divine intervention._

_Jeff looked at his brother then, the pain evident and unable to pass. He knew what he had done was wrong, but in the end couldn't it be said that he was a damn good angel trying to save a baby that hadn't done a damn thing wrong?_

"_Matt I know what I did is wrong alright, you do not have to rub salt in the wound of that. I might have actually killed her with what I tried to do. I was only trying to do the right thing and make it all right for them. I don't think I am a horrible person for that."_

_Matt put his arm around his brother then, in a gesture of brotherly trust and respect, knowing that when they had both been alive he had never spent enough time doing just that and letting him know what a good brother and person he had been. As they came together as brothers, as friends, they both did what Paul now before them did, prayed for a miracle._

* * *

He stood to his feet then, content to pace the floor hoping that the one miracle he had prayed for would just happen and the doctors would come out and tell him that she was now again stable. 

"Why does all of this have to happen to me now? What did I do that was so wrong here God? I mean I had a mother I watched die in front of me, and then I had the wife from hell that I rid myself of. I finally found the woman that makes my life complete and now you see fit to take her from me."

The voice came then, soft but eerily familiar. If he hadn't seen Jeff in the cab he wouldn't have believed it possible but it seemed again he was being visited by people in his past.

"_God does not want to take her from you son. She merely wants to make things right and is having a hard time figuring out what that is."_

His mother, looking more stunning then he had ever seen her stood before him then, glowing with the very same light he had seen the night with Jeff on the way to see Stacy. Seeing it around his mother now, he knew that she was in a better place then she had been when she had been here, and it showed. The years since her death had done nothing to the look of her. She looked young and free again, and he wondered if maybe that was what was about to happen to Stacy.

"I thought that she had all the answers Mom, so if she does then why is she having trouble with this?"

"_This isn't about you son, not at all. Stacy was a beacon of hope, the same hope that she used to make you love again. You have come across her angels of everlasting love, but you haven't seen what she can do yet have you? You believe that the little Jeff Hardy and his angry brother put the two of you together but in fact, it was God herself that put Stacy with you. You needed love, you needed acceptance and with her you found that."_

"So why give it to me and then take it away?"

"_Because son, what the Lord gave to you, he can indeed take it away if it means helping someone else who needs it more desperately."_

He knew what his mother was saying was the truth, he had been in church enough as a kid to see it happen but it didn't mean that he had to sit there and like it. He hadn't only lost his mother, but now he was in danger of losing the woman he loved so she could help someone else that needed her more. Where was the justice in that?

"_Please do not doubt what happens. This is all being done to you, and to the lovely young woman Stacy for a reason. She now knows it, has been told you might say, and now it is my job to come to you and tell you as well."_

"So that's it, she just dies now and leaves me for good?"

"_No son, I do not know what is going to happen here. None of us do, we just know that with love comes pain and unfortunately you are the one that has to deal with the inner pain."_

"She is a fighter mom, she wouldn't just choose to give up and leave me. I thought the same thing about you and well you just didn't have any of the fight left when you crossed over."

"_I left you when I did because I had done my job as a mother and as a wife and I felt that you could make it on your own. Stacy is young, she is a fighter and in the end I think whatever happens was the right decision. She hasn't lived enough to be taken just yet but I do not have the answers, and if I did none of them would be easy."_

Paul fell to his knees again then, in front of his mother, his eyes stained with tears, not knowing what to say, only knowing that the next thing he would say would be the hardest thing he ever had to say.

"If God feels the need to take her, I need you to stay with her and make her the person that I know you are. Please mom, I don't want God to take her, but if she sees fit to use Stacy for something more important, and she has to leave me, please make sure you are with her."

"_I will do that Paul, but you also must realize that in the end, whatever happens, Stacy will never truly leave you, and when she gets her chance, she will come back to you again."_

Within seconds the lights returned to normal in the hospital and Paul noticed that his mother had removed herself from the hospital, much like Jeff had done in the cab that night just a mere week beforehand.

"You are right about one thing mom; she won't ever leave me because I won't let her."

* * *

_Jeff watched his brother as Paul spoke with his mother and he saw the reaction Matt had to everything that she had told her son. It was then Matt looked over to Jeff and smiled weakly, obviously having been touched by some part of what had just taken place. He looked like a completely different._

"_Do you think that is the way Mom felt before she crossed over after her bout with the cancer?" Matt asked quietly, not wanting to let on to Paul that they were there with him, as a team to watch over Stacy._

"_I know she felt the same way. She needed to watch us grow to a certain point where she knew we would turn out alright and in the end I think she stayed long enough and we turned out fine. Just the way she would have wanted."_

_Matt was deep again in thought, wondering what was to become him now and how much he needed to talk to their mother when they finally made it home to the other side again. There were so many unanswered questions and pain he had never dealt with and he knew now that he had to if he wanted to feel alright again._

"_I was so caught up with feeling like dirt when Amy chose Chris that I held myself back from helping the two people in front of me that really needed it. Sure I talked to Stacy, but really what else did I do? I could have done more but instead of doing it, I held back and hated love. Just what kind of eternal angel am I really?"_

"_A damn confused one if you ask me. Matt don't you see? Watching Paul with his mother helped you come to terms with mom and her passing on when we were too young to really deal with it. Not only that but it helped you look at Stacy and Paul as more then two people you worked with. It helped you see that indeed they did need help and they did need love just as much as you did."_

_Matt stole a look at his brother then, amazed with how much Jeff had grown since he himself had passed on and come to terms with the other side. "When did you get so smart?"  
_

"_I didn't get smart, you just got stupid for a little while and I picked up the slack."_

"_Well if I haven't told you enough, thank you."_

_Jeff used his hands to tell his brother that there was no problem and moved closer to where Paul was now standing, staring at the wall and mumbling to himself._

"_Well what do you say we use one last act as angels and make things a little easier on him?"_

_Matt shook Jeff's hand in agreement and turned to face Paul as well. "Let's give him the one thing he needs right now, reassurance."_

* * *


	21. The Fighter of The Light

**Disclaimer:** As appealing as owning some of the World Wrestling Entertainment Superstars is, I really have to take a step back and admit that no, I do not own them, they in fact own themselves and this story is fictional in nature and any similarity to anything happening in real life is purely my way of being a psychic.

**Summary:** Stacy is diagnosed with a life threatening injury causing her to take time away from the ring. Will the love of the most unlikely man bring her back to perfect health or is she destined to have loved and lost in the game of love?

**Genre:** Romantic and Dramatic.

**Additional Info**: 3rd in the Love United Series.

**A/N:** Since I don't have a lot to write here for once, I want to be frank with you. I thought there was only one story of mine that would bring me to tears and that was An Affair to Remember, but as it turns out, this one did it as well. I guess in part because I know how I am ending it, and the other part being I don't know how much I want it to end. I put Matt back in touch with his feelings, I made Stacy let Paul into her heart and well I made Jeff be Jeff. I have done it all in terms of this story but yet I still actually get brought to tears while listening to the music and thinking about taking this to the end. Its hard man and I didn't think in all my days I would get hit with it. It's supposed to be my readers that get hit the most with the emotion of it, but as it turns out, pregnant women are wells for that sort of stuff I guess. Anyway I know I said four chapters left, but actually there will two left after this one, making it three. I thank you for the reviews on the other chapters, it means a lot.

* * *

"You can come in now Paul." The doctor said, motioning for Paul to enter the darkened room. He had already had a full report of what had happened and what was happening now, and he knew what to expect. This woman in the bed wouldn't be the same Stacy that he had made love to so tenderly only nights before. This woman now was indeed her, but a fighting Stacy, who was slowly losing the fight. 

It was up to him now, to give her something to make her fight. He had to make sure he gave her something to believe in so she could come back to him. With the trauma of losing what would have been his little girl, the last thing he wanted was to lose the woman that had made that little girl possible even for a moment.

He entered the room and stood at the foot of her bed until the Doctor made his way out. He had been here once before, staring at a blond woman and she had beaten her fight and come home to her husband. He just hoped that Stacy could do the same thing. He watched the tubes attached to her, breathing for her because there was a fear that she couldn't do it on her own just yet and it was pulling his heart in two.

"Stacy if you can hear me in there you need to fight alright? Don't you just walk out on me, I don't think I can take anymore." He croaked letting himself get carried away with the emotion he was feeling inside. His heart was pounding slowly, but it felt like he was beating for the two of them. In a matter of one night, his life had been changed not once, but twice. How could a vibrant woman like her be so close to the end in just the matter of a night? It just didn't seem right.

The door opened behind him just as he was wiping the tears that had fallen away from his eyes. He knew who it was even before they made it to him, and he didn't know what to say so he just let himself be taken into a hug by his sister in law, who obviously was feeling the affects of what was taking place before them as well.

Shawn didn't look any better either Paul noticed. He looked like he hadn't slept in days and that his heart was too being pulled back in time again to when he thought he would lose Trish even before he could tell her he loved her.

"Paul man, she is a fighter, she can pull through this."

Paul pulled away from Trish and let himself be enveloped into a hug by his best friend, the only man in the world that could come close to understanding what was going through him at that exact moment.

"I know she can pull out from it Shawn but I don't know if she will." He admitted, knowing it sounded like a cop out but not knowing what else to think at the moment.

Trish interrupted them then, touching Paul lightly on the arm, concerned that he hadn't been taking care of himself since bringing her into the hospital.

"She was pregnant Trish and she lost our baby girl trying to fight this damn cancer. I know God saw fit to save you, so maybe you can get through up there. I need her; I can't go on without her. Nothing else matters right now to be but getting her back on her feet and back to my arms."

Trish immediately started crying, realizing for the first time just how seriously Paul and Stacy were involved. Shawn and she had talked many nights about just how far these two had gotten and apparently they had gotten through it all in a heartbeat. He really couldn't see a life without her in it.

"You need to get back to work man that might be the best thing for you right now. We can stay with her until something changes." Shawn said interrupting what his wife was about to say and earning a sick look from her in return.

Paul turned then, facing his friend with fury and fire in his eyes. "Don't you get it yet man? I don't give a shit about the title or about anything the WWE has to offer. They want to hate me and treat me like a leper when I didn't do anything to them? Then fine, as far as I am concerned I left that place the minute I saw Stacy for the real person she was."

Shawn took a step back then, letting his wife take over and figure out a way to calm him down. When he had mentioned work, it hadn't been to make it seem like he didn't care; only he didn't know how to tell his distraught friend that.

"Shawn doesn't know what to say is all Paul. Come on; let's go get something to drink and eat and you can tell me what happened tonight and what else I can do to help. Shawn can stay here and watch her until we get back."

Paul looked like he was going to protest but instead followed his sister in law out into the hall and towards the cafeteria where he would tell her everything. As they left the room Shawn sat down at the side of the bed, and felt himself reliving what Trish had gone through only two short years before.

If she was in a comatose state, then would the same rules apply that did to Trish? He wondered as he sat and took her hand in his. Within seconds he closed his eyes and tried his hardest to do what he had done back then.

* * *

_The sunlight hit him first, and before he had a chance to adapt to it, the clouds overhead marked over and made it a little easier to bear. He stood at the water, looking out over the shore when he saw what he had been looking for. Crossing slowly to where she was, waiting patiently for him, he wondered just what she was doing at the water and what it meant to her._

"_You need to come out with me Stacy; you cannot spend your life in this state."_

_She looked up at him, taking her eyes off the shore and smiled at him, the most glowing smile he had ever seen her wear. It was like she was in her own version of heaven._

"_This was my plan Shawn; I can't come back with you."_

_He looked at her questioningly and she laughed a soft sound that seemed to mildly move the ocean before them. He watched the effects and looked back at her. _

"_I've been here before Stacy and I fought like hell the last time. Do not make me do it again. I don't think I could take it anymore."_

_She moved closer to him and in a whisper that only he could hear she spoke. "That is what Paul said to me before you two came into the room. He doesn't want me to give up and leave him but I could never leave him. It is just not my time to go back yet. There is work to be done."_

"_What kind of work is more important then your family?" he questioned not sure what she was getting at but wanting answers as quickly as he could. It had been a long time since he had dealt with the other side._

"_God is tortured by me, did you know that Shawn? She does not want to let me go but yet she knows it was part of a bigger plan."_

"_What bigger plan Stacy? What are you are talking about?"_

"_I need to help others Shawn; it was in my life plan to do that. The only thing stopping me from crossing over is the Paul's love and the Almighty herself."_

_Shawn was almost knocked off his feet with the revelation that Paul was indeed keeping her alive. If he only knew that he would fight even harder then he was now to make sure she came back to him. He needed to tell him and he needed to tell him now._

* * *

He awoke with a start and shifted his gaze around the room. Trish and Paul stood behind him and had looks of concern on their faces. 

"Remember when I went in to bring Trish out of the coma Paul? I can do that with her, and I did. There is something you need to know."

Paul looked from Trish to his best friend, wondering just what the hell was going on now. He knew there was truth to what he said because he had seen it for himself more then once and after the angels coming to his aid, he was ready to hear just about anything that would mean she could come back to him.

"You have to keep fighting Paul. She told me herself that the only reasons she hasn't passed on yet is because of your love, which is obviously strong enough to bind you pretty deeply and God and her unwillingness to let a young soul pass on without finishing her life."

"Are you telling me that I am keeping her alive?"

"Yes Paul, that's what I am telling you. If it is you and God that are keeping her here, you need to talk to her and make sure you work as a team."

Trish smiled, realizing that Shawn had just suggested that Paul team up with God. Trish knew from experience that Paul didn't like the tag team environment, and wasn't sure he was going to go for it now.

"Would you two give me a minute alone with her? If I have to team up with God to keep her here, I need to do it alone."

Trish and Shawn nodded and made their way silently from the room. If what Shawn had said was true, then Stacy had the two biggest forces in the world fighting for her, and there was no way she couldn't come back from that.

* * *


	22. The Lady In Red

**Disclaimer:** As appealing as owning some of the World Wrestling Entertainment Superstars is, I really have to take a step back and admit that no, I do not own them, they in fact own themselves and this story is fictional in nature and any similarity to anything happening in real life is purely my way of being a psychic.

**Summary:** Stacy is diagnosed with a life threatening injury causing her to take time away from the ring. Will the love of the most unlikely man bring her back to perfect health or is she destined to have loved and lost in the game of love?

**Genre:** Romantic and Dramatic.

**Additional Info**: 3rd in the Love United Series.

**A/N:** I do apologize for the heart string pulling with the end of this story but no matter what way I try to do it, it has to have the heart string pull in it somehow to make it come across the way it is in my head. Believe me, you are not the only ones feeling the burn from the heart strings here because I put off writing a chapter ahead of myself yesterday because I found it too hard to deal with. Well here comes the second to last chapter, and I hope you like it, or at least feel for it. This chapter might look bleak on the surface but there is always one left after it to make everything seem clearer.

* * *

"How do I get to where she is right now Shawn?" Paul demanded, stalking throughout the room, unwilling to look anyone in the eye for fear of them seeing the emotion that now had laid claim to his heart, mind and soul. 

"I can show you, but I don't know if you can do what I did. I had a lot of time to prepare for it with Trish."

"I sat in that room for forty minutes and talked my head off to her and let me tell you, she didn't do a damn thing that makes me believe I am the one keeping her alive. The only way I can really get through to her now is to join her."

Shawn looked from his wife to his friend with skepticism showing in his eyes. When he had gone in to find and bring Trish back, it had rocked his whole mind senseless, the last thing he wanted was for Paul to do the same thing and not be able to get what he wanted.

"Trish, go the front desk, give them the doctors name that saved your life and tell one of the residents to get in touch with him for a referral on what he did with me. Paul, you go with her and ask to be put into an empty hospital room. If you want the chances to do what I did and bring her out then you need to get right on it now."

They did what he asked as he sat in the room and watched Stacy. Her vitals seemed normal for someone going through what she was, and he wondered if maybe she was in a better place then she could have been here. There had been times that he wondered whether or not Trish had done the same thing. Found somewhere better to go to heal and then came back to him with all the strength she could muster.

After watching her for what seemed like forever, he felt a twitch down where his hand was now resting next to hers. Looking to where the feeling had come from, he saw her hand move again, and instead of racing out to get the doctors to warn them of what was happening with their patient, he searched his mind for the words she might need to hear.

"Stacy it's alright, I'm here for you."

As if taking in the sound of his voice, she opened her mouth, which was growing drier by the second to speak. "I need a miracle."

With those four words said, she lapsed back into the coma and the feeling she had been playing with on his hand immediately ran cold. She seemed to sink even deeper into the bed and not wanting to waste anymore time, he made a run from the chair to the lobby, where it looked like the people were ready to believe what Trish was telling them.

"Listen to me and listen quickly. There is a woman in there in a coma. I have been down this road one too many times before and if you don't do what the doctor told you to do on the phone, or what my wife here has been telling you for I am sure more then twenty minutes, I am going to have to do it right here in the lobby. If we want to save her, this might be our only chance."

Having said what he had run out to say he grabbed Paul by the arm and dragged him to where he felt there was an empty room near enough to Stacy. Pushing his best friend through the door, he motioned for Paul to get on the bed until the doctor came to administer the drug that would take him into the comatose state.

"What is going on here Shawn? Why are you in such a rush now? Is there something that we don't know about?"

Shawn shook his head and turned and moved aside as the doctor made his way into the room, the syringe ready and filled with what they would need to take them to the other side.

Shawn watched as his friend who had been sitting in the bed tensed and ready for a fight turned a shade of pale and had his muscles relax. Shawn had been here before and he knew that if Paul really needed and wanted Stacy in his life then this was their only shot. He walked from the room and met Trish at the door, taking her hands into his, the way he had done so many times over the last two years and they just stood together and prayed.

* * *

_**I've never seen you looking so lovely as you did tonight  
I've never seen you shine so bright  
I've never seen so many men ask you if you wanted to dance  
They're looking for a little romance, given half a chance  
I have never seen that dress you're wearing  
Or the highlights in your head that catch your eyes I have been blind  
**_

_He entered what felt like a dream and he realized now what Shawn had been telling him for all those years about crossing borders with the other side. It was the day of Shawn and Trish's wedding which now stood before him, Stacy off to the side standing in for one of Trish's bridesmaids. He stood to the back, the pain of what had recently happened with his ex keeping his hidden from those that might cause him pain._

_The only difference was, he felt nothing for the woman Stephanie had become and he was standing and watching the vision that now stood before him. She had looked beautiful that day, and he knew instantly that was the reason she had taken herself to this point. She didn't have the cancer, the pain of losing their little girl, or the pain of having been with him. Her mind was clear of worry and doubt and he didn't fault her one bit for choosing this as the place that he had to meet her all over again._

_Knowing the wedding had already happened and knowing he wouldn't be taking time into his own hands and changing things, he slowly stalked towards her, anxious to get to her before she felt the need to run away from him again._

_**The lady in red is dancing with me cheek to cheek  
There's nobody here, it's just you and me, It's where I wanna be  
But I hardly know this beauty by my side  
I'll never for get, the way you look tonight**_

"_You came." She whispered as he finally reached her, settling down at her side, searching for the first words to say to her. He hadnt been with her in days, and that coupled with the pain of losing his child, their child, well all he seemed to want to do was reach out to her and pull her back into life with him. _

"_There wasn't anywhere else I wanted to be." He finally said, breaking his code of silence and watching the smile envelope her face. The light on her face seemed to make it right to her eyes as the twinkle hit them and caused his heart to almost explode in emotion. He had the urge to cry but knew for some reason in this realm of beauty with her, there would be no tears. She wouldn't allow him to have them._

"_Why did you choose to come back to the wedding day?" he prodded, knowing why he would have chosen the day for her, but needing reasons for her own choice._

"_Because I wont live long enough to see my own and this one seemed to create the biggest reaction in me."_

_He reached out to touch her and placed his hands perfectly lined up on her cheeks. Pulling her to him he leaned in to whisper to her the next of questions. "What do you mean you wont live to see your wedding? You didn't even give me a chance to ask you."_

"_Don't you see Paul, you have stopped fighting, allowing me in time to move on. I told Shawn the only reason I was here was because of our love and my love for the higher power, who in recent times I have seen. She has let me go and now so do you."_

_He wanted to pull away, to distance himself from the talk of death and watching her be taken from him like their little girl had only days before. As he tried he noticed her grip was tighter then it had ever been and he wasn't being allowed to leave the embrace._

_**I've never seen you looking so gorgeous as you did tonight  
I've never seen you shine so bright you were amazing  
I've never seen so many people want to be there by your side  
And when you turned to me and smiled, It took my breath away  
I have never had such a feeling  
Such a feeling of complete and utter love, as I do tonight**_

"_Do you know why I have to leave you?"_

"_No, to be quite honest I don't. I know you are needed elsewhere but no one needs you more then me."_

"_There is only one person in this world that they could send to me to make me leave you, and in saying that, they have indeed done that. Don't you see Paul? They sent our little girl away so that I could be with her."_

_He shook his head trying to make sense of what was taking place before him. He hadnt been a huge believer in the other side, but when his mother had come to him in the hospital and explained the past and future to him, he did get it, but he just wasn't ready to let her ago, no matter how ready she was to leave him._

"_So you are leaving me to be with our daughter?" he choked out, confined to look into her eyes and see the brightness grow in them. Something about seeing their daugther had changed her and made the fight no longer about her, but about helping other people. He admired it but he didn't know how much he liked it._

"_I don't want you to leave me Stacy, I don't know what my life is about without you in it."_

_She smiled again at him, allowing her hands to touch his face in the most angelic of touches. He didn't have much time left and he knew it, and she was going to make whatever she said now count._

"_When the time comes, I will come back to you Paul, it may takes years or it may takes mere days, but I am never really gone from you. I will never let you be alone, not in mind, spirit or heart. I love you, and until I see you again, please never stop loving me."_

_**The way you look tonight  
I never will forget, the way you look tonight  
My lady in red (I love you.)**_

_She faded from view them, a sudden calm running over him, knowing that what she had told him was indeed true and she would never allow herself to leave him. He stood on the beach for what seemed like hours after she had vanished and voiced how blessed he had been for having her for the short time that he did. Walking back to the place he was standing upon entry to the dream he realized that he hadnt lost a little girl and a woman he loved, but he had gained a whole lot more. He spent his life focused on the title and let it take over his whole being, well it was time for a change and one that would make the WWE feel him for years to come._

* * *

**A/N2:** I added a song for the coma sequence because it seemed to fit as he talked to her and it's been the song on continual play for the last two chapters of the story. It is called **Lady in Red** and it is by **Chris Deburgh.**

* * *


	23. The End

**Disclaimer:** As appealing as owning some of the World Wrestling Entertainment Superstars is, I really have to take a step back and admit that no, I do not own them, they in fact own themselves and this story is fictional in nature and any similarity to anything happening in real life is purely my way of being a psychic.

**Summary:** Stacy is diagnosed with a life threatening injury causing her to take time away from the ring. Will the love of the most unlikely man bring her back to perfect health or is she destined to have loved and lost in the game of love?

**Genre:** Romantic and Dramatic.

**Additional Info**: 3rd in the Love United Series.

**A/N:** Well this is the last chapter and after it comes the thank you chapter which I have pretty much laid the finishing touches on because the reviewers never really change, just grow in number as it goes. So thank you for any and all reviews from this point on and look for that chapter at the end. You have all been the best group to have reading and reviewing my stuff and I will see you later for the next story. Sorry guys but with the way I am ending this, it is also going to be a song chapter. I felt with all the sadness in this story, it needed something to end it right.

* * *

_**Alone in this house again tonight  
I got the TV on, the sound turned down and a bottle of wine  
There's pictures of you and I on the walls around me  
The way that it was and could have been surrounds me  
I'll never get over you walkin' away**_

He walked slowly up the walkway, going over the week's events in his head as he did. He stopped at the doorway, unwilling to walk in and relive the nightmare that had now become the life he lived.

Had it been because whenever she really needed him he had been away defending the damn title? Had it been his fault that now instead of home beside him, she was being prepped to be put under the ground, as far away from him as she could get? Had he ruined his life by sleeping with that woman and for penance she had been taken from him?

Of course he knew everything he was asking himself as he stood outside the house in the cold February air was false, but it didn't help him wrap his mind around what had happened anymore then anything else he had tried and failed with. Was his obsession with a title that had seen better men the one thing that put the woman he loved in the ground?

He walked into the house, easing himself slowly into the living room. Trish had come by the house and made sure all of the blood from the disaster had been cleaned up but it still looked the same to him. He might as well have lost her right then and there.

He knelt down to the spot where he noticed a spot of blood still lay uncleaned. As he got closer to the floor he put his hand to the spot that now held the only thing that was left of Stacy in this house. He looked at his finger, watching the blood drying on his hand and felt the tears coming. As hard as he had been fighting since leaving the hospital and signing off on all papers revolving around her death, it didn't mean he wanted to let her go just yet.

Seeing her the way she was on his friends wedding day, knowing she wanted to go back to a place where she wasn't sick just made his heart ache with pain. She knew he was there to say goodbye, and so had he, but he hadn't gotten a chance to get even close enough to do that. He was so concerned with not letting her go, he had forgotten what it meant to really say goodbye to somebody.

He walked over to where she kept her cabinet filled with the liquor that they had enjoyed on so many occasions that he hadn't even documented in the life of their relationship. He knew walking there was a damn mistake but something told him to go there because something awaited him.

As Paul poured himself a glass of scotch, he noticed why he had been drawn to the cabinet to begin with. A slip of paper sat directly under the glass he had just taken from the rack and it had his name written in designer block letters thick enough for the oldest of people to see it.

Sliding it out slowly afraid of what it might say inside, he stared at it, slowly sipping the drink in his hand. Was there any way she knew she wasn't going to be around any longer then she had been and had written him a letter to say a proper goodbye?

The voice came to him then, so softly he never would have caught it had he not been aware of the angels that surrounded him even now. Knowing his mother would never truly let him go, and Matt and Jeff with their romantic fight still lingering around, he listened again, the voice sounding different then any he had ever heard before.

"_It isn't as bad as you think it is Paul. Open the letter and let my voice guide you through it."_

He did as she requested, sliding the letter out of the envelope and letting his fingers run across the roughness of the paper as he cracked it open to start reading. Only it wasn't him that was reading it this time, it was coming from her, from where she sat on the living room couch, clear as day in front of him.

"_Paul— she started, knowing the letter word by ominous word. She had wanted him to find it himself, but with the wariness he felt about being there without her, she knew in her heart he never would, which was the reason she had allowed herself to appear to him and help him deal with her passing._

"No Stacy, don't do this to me alright? You can't be here right now, you are dead remember?"

"_I may have crossed over, but you can never really forget me Paul. I am the first women in your over thirty years of searching that you have ever really loved. You can't just push it away like it never happened."_

He hung his head then, not knowing the right away to answer what she had just said to him. In truth she was indeed the first woman that he had lived and died for, and in the end it hadn't gotten him anywhere other then this house and alone. He knew she was right, but he also knew it hadn't gone the way he wanted it too.

"_Are you pushing me away because you never said the right goodbye to me?" she asked, the smile never once leaving her face, which was now glowing more then it had in life. _

"No, but you are right about one thing, I never said goodbye the way I wanted too. I wasn't ready to let you go, no matter what you think you saw in me."

"_The only thing I saw in you was a man that needed to be loved and who I deeply loved. I am not here to make things harder for you Paul. I came because I love you and because I want you to hear what I have to say before you change your life and run away from it all."_

He moved closer to where she now sat, knowing he wouldn't be able to touch her, but the overwhelming need to be close too strong to bear any longer. "What is it that you think you have to tell me?"

"_How sorry I am that our love couldn't have lasted forever in earthly realms. How much I miss sleeping beside you in that bed upstairs, and how much I wish that none of this had ever happened to me or to you."_

"And that is supposed to make this last week of preparing for your death alright then?" Paul questioned more then a little ticked off that she wasn't seeing the pain he had written all over his face and instead trying to push it away.

"_No it's not but as I told you before I died and crossed over, our love never ends Paul and in some way or another I will be back in your life in later years, never to leave your side again."_

"How can you promise something like that?

"_When I chose to be taken away from you, and it was indeed my choice all of this time, I asked for one thing in return, something that wouldn't be hard to grant. I may not be here by your side in real life and real time, but if you just believe, and never give up on what we share, then I will be back by your side in no time at all. I asked to come back to you, not because I don't think you can't live without me, but because I know you can and I want to be there when you do it. I had to leave this earthly body now, it was too sick for me to care for, but there is nothing stopping me from coming back again."_

She vanished then, having told him everything that was now sitting right in front of him in the letter she had written. She had made a pact with a higher power and although she had given up one body, she would fight to come back to him again so they could be together forever. As Paul stared at the letter he realized she had done what she came to do. She had said goodbye the way she needed too, which meant there was no goodbye and that was the reason she wouldn't let him say goodbye to her.

_**I've never been the kind to ever let my feelings show  
And I thought that being' strong meant never losing' your self-control  
But I'm just drunk enough to let go of my pain  
To hell with my pride, let it fall like rain  
From my eyes  
Tonight I wanna cry**_

* * *

**_Would it help if I turned a sad song on  
"All By Myself" would sure hit me hard now that you're gone  
Or maybe unfold some old yellow lost love letters  
It's gonna hurt bad before it gets better  
But I'll never get over you by hiding' this way_**

"Come in." Vince said through the door, knowing his ex son in law was supposed to be there for a meeting as of five minutes previous. He looked up as Paul walked in and motioned for him to take a seat. As soon as Paul had done what he requested, Vince cleared his throat ready to find out what this meeting was about.

"Well son, do you want to tell me what it is you are doing here today?"

Paul cleared his throat and looked at his boss, wondering if things would ever really be the same again after what had happened years ago. He wondered how Vince would take this and then wondered again if what he was doing was the right choice.

"I came here today sir because I think it's best if I had in my two weeks notice. I have enough money by now to buy out my own contract and I will not go and work for Jarrett or any one else for that matter. I just want to be free of the wrestling business."

Vince almost fell out of his chair listening to what Paul was now telling him. He wanted to leave the WWE and more then that he didn't want to work in any wrestling promotion ever again? What had happened to this man in the week he had been away?

"You want to tell me what this is all about son? Does this have something to do with the recent death within the company?" Vince questioned, daring not to speak the name of the deceased. He himself hadn't come to terms with how soon she had been taken and it would make sense that Paul felt the same way; there was some gossip of a relationship between the two.

"No it has nothing to do with Stacy and what we felt for each other. I had too many years in this business and made the title more important then my own life, and I even married into it stupidly. What Stacy did teach me is that there are some things that mean more then the life I lead, which leads me here now, to end this life."

Paul rose from the chair and not bothering to shake Vince's hand upon leaving he just let the next words sit with his boss. "You can get in touch with me at Stacy's old place when everything is in place for me to buy out the contract. Thank you for the time you spent tutoring me as a son to take over aspects of the business, it did mean a lot but it is time I got out and made a new life for myself."

As Paul left the office, Vince turned around and looked out to the window down the ground below. As much as he hated to lose the young man that had just walked out on him he knew from experience that there was more to life then wrestling. With that he grabbed his jacket and headed for the door. It was time he focused on just what it was that did matter. His wife and his children.

**_I've never been the kind to ever let my feelings show  
And I thought that being' strong meant never losing' your self-control  
But I'm just drunk enough to let go of my pain  
To hell with my pride, let it fall like rain  
From my eyes  
Tonight I wanna cry_**

* * *

**A/N2:** There will be a sequel here, which will probably take place in book six, as there is still more I want to do with Paul since I have made him a human being now instead of a company whore. The nextstory which is Book 4will come at you sometime tomorrow.

* * *


	24. The Thank You Notes

**Disclaimer:** As appealing as owning some of the World Wrestling Entertainment Superstars is, I really have to take a step back and admit that no, I do not own them, they in fact own themselves and this story is fictional in nature and any similarity to anything happening in real life is purely my way of being a psychic.

**Summary:** Stacy is diagnosed with a life threatening injury causing her to take time away from the ring. Will the love of the most unlikely man bring her back to perfect health or is she destined to have loved and lost in the game of love?

**Genre:** Romantic and Dramatic.

**Additional Info**: 3rd in the Love United Series.

**A/N:** These might be the hardest thank you notes that I have ever had to write because the story wore me down enough that I'm pretty darn emotional as I am writing them. I will try not to make them too long, to full of the word thank you but I will do it in such a way that none of you that reviewed this story from beginning to end will walk away feeling any less then warmed in your heart. As always these aren't in any order, just chapter by chapter reviews and then some.

* * *

**Tink2** _I have said it before and I will say it again, you have been with me from pretty much the beginning of my writing on the site and you have always popped in every few chapters to say hello and tell me what you thought. You are one of the closest friends and one of the people I admire for writing and for life. I hope you always keep up with your writing and continue to treat us to the brilliant writing that is you._

**Phoenix-Satori10** _Another brilliant writer and someone I hope sticks with it. What you did with your short story named The Best Deceptions really did give me power to want to write romantic stories like these because of the way he died. So with that being said, and you touching my heart the way you did, the only thing left to say is thank you for the time spent reading those chapters and reviewing them as well and I'm glad there are people like you in the world._

**Bkerbunny** _With you I got up the courage to tell you the bunny story I had, even though it seems quite embarrassing to think about now, since it happened months ago. You did what I thought you might, you had a good laugh and if I didn't make you shock in the romantic story, I sure did with that one. Thank you for reviewing me when you get the time, and for always saying just the right thing. People like you are the people I want to reach with these stories, and I am glad that with you I got to do that._

**litachk9**_ With the last tale of two star crossed lovers I gained you, and in the end I seemed to have kept you with the next story. You stuck with me through all of the chapters, right along with me for the ride of emotions and wondering what was going to happen next. I like to make writers happy and also sad at the same time when I write and I think I did that with you, and it enabled me to write even better. Knowing I am reaching so many different types of people with the stories means a lot, and you're reviewing means even more. Thank you._

**HopelessRomantic225** _Now as much as everyone wants to believe this is I reviewing myself because well I am totally a hopeless romantic; I fear that it is not me. I thank you most of all for having that name, and also for reviewing. I think you have reviewed one of two of my things before, but never to the end, so it was nice to see you get into something like this, where the romance was heavy and the chase wasn't big. I hope to see you around for future stories of mine, you were a good reviewer._

**Huntersgirl**_You have reviewed all three of the stories and also like a few before you, joined right in with the emotional rollercoaster I took you all on. When I sat down to write this one, I knew the end result but now the middle and I panned it all out around the ending and well you let me know how it touched you and gave me the gumption to keep writing. Thank you for the time spent reading and reviewing and I hope you like the next one._

**Latisha C**_ Again all the way through another story with me, beginning to end. So far you are the only one that has done that for about 70 of my stories. Thank you so much for giving me the honor of reading your writing a while back, it meant a lot to me the things that you said about me being someone you trusted in terms of writing. I take it seriously and although I don't watch my own spelling and writing I take great pride in doing it for you. I hope that as long as I continue doing this, I always have a fan just like you. Law and Order here we come!_

**ImagxIxnatioN**_ Now if memory serves, I haven't been reviewed by you with that name before, and I do believe the reason I got you is because I made Jeff and Matt such a big part of the story on top of the main characters. So I thank you for being pulled in for as long as you did and when I write the next story, with Matt and Jeff along for the ride, I hope you will join the rest of the reviewers in reading it. Thank you for the time you took to review._

**Princess-Muse v2.0**_ Well what else can I say to you here that I haven't said what 13 times already? You made me work harder at getting this story out because I in turn helped you get the energy to update. You have written some really good work and you are another one of those writers that I read that I hope never loses their urge to write. You can get me on any emotional plain with your writing and I cannot wait to go along for the ride and see what else you have for me. Thank you for the time you spent reading all 23 chapters of this one and see you for the next one if life doesn't take over too much._

**Kandiland**_ You guessed it was Paul before I even told you who it was, and then you got touched by the emotions of the ending chapter and didn't hesitate to tell me that I got you. I made a lot of people grab tissues for this one, the one that most shocked me being myself, because I can turn off emotions when writing usually. You kept coming chapter after chapter and telling me how much you liked it, the best parts of it, even laughing at some of the funny parts I wanted to throw in to make it light for some of you. I thank you for all of that and more. I hope I see you around for the next story._

**Stacy Orton**_ It was going to be a Randy and Stacy love story until I realized I had tried one of those and stopped halfway looking for inspiration. So I did the next best thing and grabbed one of Evolution's finest. I am sorry I couldn't make it after your namesake, which is cool btw, but never fear the Randy story is next and you won't believe who I paired him with. I also put him in a couple chapters a bit because of the nice relationship he has with her. I hope I can keep you around to read the next one. Thank you for the reviews._

**J3r1ch0h0lic4eva**_ I remember telling you last time your name was cool because it was about Jericho but used with numbers, and I just think that rocks. Plus Chris is Canadian so well you can't go wrong, but none the less, the Chris story has been told and you still stuck around to check out what I had up my sleeve next. Thank you for the interest and the reviews and the time and I hope to see you for the next one._

**Esquirella**_ First time reviewer of mine and I thank you for signing in and reading along with my story. I hoped you liked it and I hope I do see you for the next one. I love making people fall in love in my mind, and well I tend to do it again in a big way with the next one. Thank you for telling me that I had a great story going and I hope you got a chance to follow it to the end._

**Xtreme-Jewell**_ I love it when people review me and tell me something that I have done well without mentioning story things that happened. What you did when you first reviewed me knocked me on my ass, telling me how well I used raw emotions, and I appreciate it and the time you took to read it and maybe others because your name sounds familiar along the review train of thanks I have with every story. Thank you very much and I hope you like the next one._

**harmoni9**_ The fact that you went through two and a half stories and filled up on more then your share of emotions and then reviewed really showed and I loved it. When you said the word wow over and over well it made my heart stop I'm sure. It means a lot that you liked all three, even when they are all so different but have the same basic ending. I hope you stick around for the next one and the ones after that and thank you for the time you spent which had to have felt like forever reading them. I appreciate it a lot believe me._

**Losing Grip:**_ to the lone reviewer that didn't sign in to do it. I have said this so many times I am sure people get mad hearing it so much, but the people that just happen to come to the site to read and then read something that I wrote and review it right away mean the most to me. There are a lot of people that I admire that write on here and review me and are signed in, but the ones that get away from me are the ones that are like you. I appreciate the time you took to read my writing and I hope that if you followed the story you would come along for the ride for the fourth one, which is going to be another one that I have never done but with the same end result as the rest. True and everlasting love. Thank you again and see you around the bend._

**To Any and All Reviewers I missed or Review When Story is done:**

_This is my ending of the thank you chapter, and in the end I like to thank any people that will review once the story has been done and the next one has been started. Believe me, they do review me weeks even months after the fact and for that I thank all of you ahead of time and if you take the time to scroll to the end of the thank you chapter, you will see this and you will know that your time meant something to me. If there was any I missed while scrolling through the reviews looking for all the different people, never believe I forgot you; just know that for reviewing me, I appreciate you. See you all around the bend and until then, make life count. You only get one of them after all._

_Thank You All Again, See you For Book 4 Coming Up Next!_

Sincerely,  
Melissa aka Exist2Inspire

* * *


End file.
